The Luxury of Fear
by blindbat1192
Summary: Having moved to Hillwood on a mission, and to escape a tragic past, Ashley Cliffe finds herself drawn to the local residents' search for Arnold Shortman, who has been missing for weeks. This could be Ashley's opportunity to open herself up to others...assuming she and Helga G. Pataki don't kill each other first.
1. The New Normal

**Hey guys, this fanfic, though it takes place in Hey Arnold!, is actually a sequel to The Unraveling (Rugrats/AGU) and Another Side, Another Story (The Fairly Oddparents). Originally, I was going to have Arnold's parents and TJM as recurring elements, but with the recent announcement of an official TV movie (I am NOT making this up and I am STOKED), I decided to leave that out and stick with the main storyline I had already thought up. Enjoy!**

* * *

All the buildings of the urban neighborhood had seen better days. Many of them were simple brick buildings, but some were more worn down than others, having boarded-up windows or decaying stoops. And yet, many people, especially children, consider this place home. And not just the poor or middle class. Even the wealthier residents like the Patakis and the Lloyds had roots in this neighborhood, one of the oldest in Hillwood, and one with great historic value.

But the black Sedan driving towards one of these homes had not been there for a tour or a walk down memory lane. The driver of the vehicle had no reverence towards sentimental values, and merely scoffed as he passed by the school children playing kickball in the street. Unlike most other drivers, who were used to kids playing in the street and, in some cases, more okay with it than they should, this driver honked loudly at them, scaring them away as he drove right through.

As the man slammed his car shut, he kicked aside a stray basketball rolling by as he made his way up a staircase to one of the more elegant homes. Without hesitation, he banged his fist on the door rather than ring the golden doorbell so often used by visitors. To his surprise, the door was answered quicker than he thought. The man behind the door was a middle-aged father with a well-kept mustache and finely groomed hair, while also sporting a traditional tennis polo. Unfortunately, he didn't look pleased to see his visitor.

"Spade?" he asked.

"Afternoon, Buckley," Spade said in a heavy Yorkshire accent, "I'd love to ask how you been holding up, but we both know I don't particularly care."

He didn't look like he did, either. In stark contrast to Buckley's attire, Spade wore a worn-out brown jacket with a white tank top underneath and baggy pants. He would look like any other Hillwood thug were it not for a tattoo on his right hand, uniquely shaped like his namesake...a spade.

"Then hurry along and explain why you're here," Buckley replied, keeping his hand on the doorknob.

"That's what I always liked about you, Buckley," Spade said, "Always getting right to business. Alright, I'll get straight to the point; the favor you owe my boss...its come time to pay it forward."

"Oh...oh no..." Buckley's face began to pale.

"Now don't get cold feet on me now, friend," Spade said, closing distance between himself and Buckley, "Kaspar doesn't like being screwed over, and frankly, neither do I."

"I'd feel better if Dr. Corr would just come here himself," Buckley said coldly.

"Well that's just a patch of tough luck, then," Spade replied, "Very few people actually see him these days. Details are fuzzy, but there's some powerful people he's got cowering to him. Including you."

"What do you people want from me?" asked Buckley.

"Just some DNA samples from your charming daughter," Spade replied, "Don't ask me why, I'm not a scientist. I'm just paid to do the dirty work."

"M-My daughter? What kind of game are you playing?"

"No, see, you're not listening. I don't actually know _why_ they want it, I'm just here to collect. Unless you would rather have one of the big shots pay a visit and do the job themselves?"

"N-No!" Buckley cried, "...that won't be needed. I'll get something, I just...I just need some time."

"I'll let you borrow time this once," Spade embarked, "Just to show you how nice I am."

Buckley knew this was faux kindness.

"But we won't wait forever," Spade warned, "So don't go wasting the time I've so generously lent you."

With that final warning, Spade got back in his car and drove off. Buckley couldn't have been any happier to see him go, but he knew Spade would eventually come back. And he would be much rougher if Buckley did not deliver.

* * *

The old man with the large bump on his head had gotten up uncharacteristically early. Phil had been told by an old friend, Lou Pickles, that someone he worked with would be staying in Hillwood for some time and needed somewhere to stay. As a favor to an aforementioned old friend, Phil rented them the room once belonging to Mr. Smith. As he drank black coffee from a cliche "World's Best Grandpa" mug (though he wasn't going to argue with that), he saw a cab pull up with two people that looked like the ones Lou described.

A bearded man in his late thirties, with his beard pointed and dropping off his chin, but with no trace of hair on his head, carried most of the suitcases. He looked like a mountain man, relatively tall and donning loose jeans and a dark red flannel shirt. He certainly had the muscles for one. Behind him was a much younger woman...no, rather a girl. A blonde girl came in with two braids on the side of her face, the rest of her hair covered by a backwards black cap. She clearly did not like having much attention drawn to her, covering herself in a red hoodie and baggy jeans similar to the man she was traveling with.

"You must be Phil Shortman," the mountain man said in a deep rocky voice, shaking Phil's hand, "I'm Haggard, and this is my...daughter Ashley."

Ashley didn't say anything. She just held up a peace sign, to which Phil smiled. He wasn't so old he didn't know what that meant.

"And you must be the friends Lou mentioned," Phil said, "Any friend of his is a friend of mine."

"We really appreciate you taking us in," Haggard said, "We won't be too much of a bother."

"Nonsense, you're no bother at all!" Phil exclaimed, handing him the keys to their new room.

Thanking him one last time for his hospitality, Haggard and Ashley walked up the stairs towards an empty room on the second floor. Breathing a sigh of relief upon entering the empty apartment, Ashley walked up to the window that only showed another brick wall from next door.

"I hate this mission already," Ashley whined.

"Are you going to say that every five minutes?" Haggard asked, putting down their suitcases.

"Maybe I will," Ashley replied starkly, "What's it to you, 'Dad'?"

"Ashley," Haggard said, "We have it good compared to what's happened before. We just need to find a way to speak with Scheck, and just send the information back to the rest of our boys. We don't have to fight, kill, or even hurt anybody. We just investigate."

" _You_ get to do the investigating," Ashley complained, " _I_ have to be a normal 12-year old girl that just hangs around the neighborhood."

"Ashley, I know it's frustrating," Haggard said, "But Lou is right. This may do you some good. Besides, it doesn't necessarily have to be with other children. We're in the early days of summer, so there's no school in session."

"But they'll still be running around everywhere," Ashley said, sitting down on one of the creaky old beds, "They'll either hate me and force me to rip their faces off, or constantly want to talk to me and annoy me to no end."

"You don't know that, Ashley," Haggard responded, "It certainly won't if you don't open yourself up. Just because you've lost touch with your old friends from..."

"Don't talk about them, they were never my friends," Ashley replied bitterly, "They sided with _him_ over me."

" _He_ was a completely different matter," Haggard told her, "The Errol that caused so much damage to us was _not_ the one who befriended those kids. Errol Blunt saved them. He saved _us_. You read the report, you know they were different people."

"Doesn't change what he is," Ashley said.

"People change, Ashley," Haggard said, "For better _or_ for worse. Errol Blunt changed for the better. He was never our enemy, even if we thought he was. That is part of what Lou wants from us during this mission. Me personally, I'd like nothing more than to live a quiet life away from all the drama and the tragedy, start fresh. It could be a good chance for you to start over after your..."

"Don't even finish that," Ashley said.

Ashley sighed and got up off the bed.

"Whatever," Ashley said, "May as well look around this dump we'll be calling home. Have fun trying to get info out of Scheck, let alone getting to meet with him in that god-forsaken prison he's locked up in."

Ashley did not care that she had slammed the door behind her. Haggard groaned to himself as he began to unpack.

* * *

Ashley heard, in the short time she had sat in Slausen's Ice Cream Parlor, about a baseball time between the kids over at a place called Gerald Field. Ashley's mission briefing was to just lay low and play the part of a normal girl, but she saw an opportunity to do some recon of her own. Even if it wasn't for the mission, Ashley felt like she needed to do something that fits her skill set. Collecting information and kicking ass were her primary skill sets.

As soon as she left the parlor, she collided with another boy just a little bit shorter than her, wearing a dark blue hoodie that covered most of his body. Both kids fell to the ground, though this boy seemed more fuddled than her. Ashley had gotten up on her own two feet the second after she fell, but the boy needed a hand, literally. Ashley held out her hand, and the boy willingly grabbed it, being pulled back up.

"T-Thanks," said the soft-spoken boy, not showing his face.

"Sure," Ashley said.

The boy walked off in a hurry, clearly not wanting to delay any further.

"That's the weirdest shaped head I've ever seen," Ashley said to herself, "Can't imagine the woman who pushes a football out of her..."

Bus honks blocked out Ashley as she walked off, not noticing the Missing Persons poster just barely hanging onto the brick wall she walked past. Though faded and ripped at the edges, there was unmistakably a football-headed boy at the center of the poster.

Arnold Shortman had not been seen since April of that year.


	2. Crossing Paths

Ashley covering herself with a hood, trotted along the sidewalk just by a grassy field uncharacteristically placed in between two brick buildings. It looked as though it had been something other than a baseball field a long time ago. Not that many other people could tell, what with the group of kids currently playing ball on it. She noticed a girl with an unkempt unibrow and pigtails in a pink dress pitching the ball, with a pudgy, pig-nosed boy with an underbite up to bat. Two other boys who seemed to be close friends of his were cheering him on.

"Harold, Harold, he's our man! If he can't do it, I'm out 10 bucks!" said a boy with a large, long nose.

The taller of the two, a boy with a strong southern accent and beak nose turned to him

"You bet money on Harold?" Stinky asked.

"Duh!" Sid replied, "When it comes to sports, always bet on the jew!"

"I thought that was spellin' bees," Stinky said, "On account'a Jews being notoriously academic."

"Harold's not...crap," Sid said, bowing his head in defeat, "I thought Gerald was a little too confident in making this bet."

The boy in questing, Gerald, was up right after Harold, who already got his first strike.

"Next time you'll learn not to bet against the house," Gerald told him. There were also others with them, including a tall girl in a red sweatshirt covering second, a small Asian girl in glasses on third, a freckled redhead boy out in the field, a freckled red-haired girl not far behind, a weird boy with glasses staring out into space, and a tall, earthy girl keeping score.

Harold did hit the ball the second time. Sid let out a cheer thinking he just had his luck turn around...until it went out of bounds and became a foul. And as fate would have it, it was aimed right at Ashley, who had simply been walking by. Gerald and the others were about to scream "Watch out!" But they didn't have time. In the blink of an eye, Ashley, without turning, stopped and caught it with her bare hand.

And that was purely on instinct. She didn't even see the ball. She heard the ball hit the bat, and felt it coming towards her.

"That totally counts as out!" Gerald shouted out.

"No it's not!" Harold screamed, "That guy's not even playing!"

"Totally not out!" Sid added.

"Oh stuff it, Sid," Gerald said, "You just don't wanna lose $10 bucks."

Before the bickering could go any further, the pitcher, Helga, had called out to Ashley.

"Hey doofus!" Helga shouted, "How about giving us our ball back?"

When Ashley turned, her hood fell off her head and revealed her face. Her braided hair flew to the side as she looked right in their direction. For a brief second, her face seemed to have captured the attention of a couple of the guys. But that quick went away when she suddenly scowled, throwing the ball at Helga as quickly and as roughly as it had come towards herself.

"Whoa!" Gerald said, seeing how fast it had gone.

"Oh my word!" Rhonda exclaimed.

Fortunately for Helga, she was a tough girl, and easily caught the ball. She looked back at Ashley who had started to turn back.

"You're welcome," Ashley said.

"Wait, you can't go!" Sid exclaimed, "You gotta join our game!"

"Come again?" Ashley asked.

"Can it, big-nose!" Helga scowled, "You just want her to play because you're pathetically in love at first sight!"

Phoebe, who had originally been covering third, had somehow crept up behind Helga just after she caught the ball.

"Sound familiar, Helga?" Phoebe asked her.

"Zip it, Pheebs," Helga said to her.

"Zipping," Phoebe replied meekly.

"I really don't mind if she plays with us," Rhonda said, "But she _has_ to play for the girls team!"

"No fair!" Harold whined, "You've already got Helga on your team! Why do you need another tough girl?"

"It's sad you don't realize I'm not even playing," Ashley deadpanned.

"Yeah, real sad, I'm throwing myself off a bridge over it," Helga said, "Run along!"

"Gladly," Ashley said.

"Please?" Sheena asked, "Our games haven't been the same since Arnold..."

"Sheena!" Rhonda shouted.

The other children stared awkwardly at each other in silence at the mention of Arnold's name. No one really wanted to look anyone else in the eye. Ashley was quick to notice this.

"...did I walk in on something I shouldn't have?" Ashley asked.

"No, don't worry about it, uh...I don't think we got your name?" Phoebe inquired.

"...it's Ashley," she replied.

"Oh, well, Ashley, we had a friend, Arnold Shortman, who..."

"Zip it, Pheebs!" Helga said again, "She didn't know football-head, she doesn't need to."

"Football-head?" asked Ashley.

"That's Helga's nickname for him," Stinky said, "On account'a she hated his guts!"

"Oh, I don't think that's quite it," Lila said, "It's ever so presumptuous to think..."

"Lila, we know you're sweet and all, and can always see the good in people, but Helga hated him," Gerald said, "The only reason she hasn't made fun of him ever since is out of respect for the dead."

"Oh...he died?" Ashley asked, suddenly feeling some form of pity.

"Not literally, Ashley," Phoebe replied, "We just haven't seen him in weeks and it's been rather...empty without him."

"Oh good," Ashley replied, "Because if the football-head I ran into on my way here was a ghost or something, I'd be biting off more than I can..."

"Wait, you saw him?!" Helga asked.

"You've seen Arnold?" asked Sid.

"How is he?" Rhonda asked.

"...wait, what?" Ashley asked, "No, I didn't see Arnold, just a boy with a very similar head. Doesn't mean he's..."

"Is he okay?" Phoebe asked.

"What did he say to you?" Gerald asked.

"Did he say if he was coming back?" Lila asked.

Now everyone was inching closer to Ashley, their curiosity getting the better of them. Any chance of this girl having seen Arnold recently was a high hope for them. And though there were more than a few people with football-shaped heads, only one had gone missing, and only one had been of concern to everyone.

"Um...you're all starting to creep me out," Ashley said, backing away.

"You _did_ see him, didn't you?" Harold asked, "Where is he now?"

"Why won't he talk to us?" asked Sheena.

Ashley's eyes darted back and forth between the desperate children who were bombarding her with questions. They stared at her like she was holding the last of the food in front of a starving crowd. And Ashley knew what kind of things could happen when it was prolonged.

"I, uh...think that was actually him on first base," Ashley said desperately.

"Where?" everyone else cried, looking at first base.

By the time they turned back around, they realized they had been duped. Ashley was gone, and with it the last chance of knowing what became of Arnold Shortman.

"She gave us the slip!" Stinky exclaimed.

"I can't believe we fell for that," Rhonda said.

"...think we'll see her again?" asked Sid.

"Why? So you can keep fantasizing about her doing things to you she'd never do if you were the last man on earth?" asked Helga.

"Wha...no!" Sid replied, "It's just that...she saw Arnold! No one else has seen him in weeks!"

"He's right, Helga," Gerald said, "I say we look for her and get some answers!"

"Seriously?" asked Helga, "In the middle of the game?"

"If it means there's a chance we'll see Arnold again, yes," Gerald said, "The game can wait."

Suddenly, and without warning, someone's phone started ringing. Judging by the classical music that was playing as a ringtone, it could only be Rhonda's phone. She looked at the phone and picked it up.

"Hello Daddy!" she exclaimed, "What's up?...What?...Right now?...But Daddy, we're...okay fine, I'll be right there."

Rhonda hung up and looked at the rest of the group dejectedly.

"Sorry, guys, I'll have to play detective with you later," she said, "Daddy said I have to come home."

"Why now?" Lila asked.

"He didn't say," she replied, "But he didn't sound happy about it."

"Get into some trouble, Rhondaloid?" Helga asked.

"Of course not, Helga!" Rhonda exclaimed, "Why would I...never mind, I'll see you guys later."

As Rhonda walked one direction heading home, everyone else started walking the opposite direction, the one they saw Ashley going towards before they even crossed paths. As Arnold's best friend, Gerald had been the de facto leader of the search party, walking in front of everyone else. Helga stayed in the very back, holding onto a rather fond possession in the shape of a locket. When she was sure no one else was looking, she opened it to look at her beloved Arnold once more.

But she could only look for a few fragile seconds before remembering exactly who it was that apparently saw Arnold last. Ashley. Something about her really pissed Helga off. There was something about her she didn't like, and not just the fact that she seemed to be hiding something about Arnold. If Ashley was involved with whatever circumstances he got himself into, Helga would personally bash her skull in.

* * *

Ashley had gotten just far enough away to whistle for a cab. In a city like Hillwood, they were more common than the last town Ashley lived. The grungy driver adjusted his mirrors as Ashley got into the back seat.

"Where you heading?" he asked.

"Dunno," replied Ashley, "Let's start with anywhere else."


	3. Cat and Mouse

"Really?" asked Nadine, "She saw Arnold?"

Rhonda had called up Nadine, who was unable to join the gang for baseball that day, and was chatting her best friend up over the phone while walking home. As the primary source of gossip at P.S 118, Rhonda was sure to share the news that they had met someone who could have seen the missing Arnold Shortman.

"Apparently," Rhonda said, "That girl Ashley said she ran into a football-headed kid, and how many other football-heads do we know?"

"And just who is this Ashley?" asked Nadine.

"Beats me," Rhonda replied, "I've never met her before today."

"Does she even live in Hillwood?" asked Nadine.

"If she does, she doesn't get out much."

"And yet you don't seem to stop talking about her."

"A strange girl shows up and lets it slip that she's seen Arnold, and you think I won't talk about it?" asked Rhonda.

"Point taken," Nadine replied, "I guess it's safe to say you don't like this girl?"

"I didn't say that," Rhonda replied, "I hardly even know her. The only one who was hostile towards her was Helga."

"That's just Helga," Nadine said, "You know how she is with people."

"Not like this," Rhonda said, "You weren't there, Nadine, but something about this girl really struck a bad chord with Helga. Almost like it was Arnold."

"That's good, though, right?" asked Nadine, "That she's going back to her normal self?"

"Not if her normal self murders our one link to Arnold in cold blood before we can find him," Rhonda said.

"Poor girl would get creamed," Nadine said.

"Not sure about that, either," Rhonda added, "She looked like she could hold her own. I'm almost curious which one would win in a fight. But _after_ we find her and get her to tell us what she knows about Arnold."

By now, Rhonda had approached the street with her house on it.

"I'll call you later, okay?"

"Keep me posted."

Just as Rhonda hung up, her front door opened, and her father was there to greet her. He seemed to be in a bit of a rush, as his usually well-groomed hair had a few loose strands hanging out.

"Hi, Daddy," Rhonda said.

"Can you come into the kitchen with me, please?" her father asked.

Not knowing why she shouldn't, Rhonda followed her father to the kitchen. Her mother was also sitting at the island counter just by the fridge, but there was another guest nearby; Dr. Remus Graf, the Lloyd family physician. He was a short and plump man, and also very jolly. Having emigrated from Germany, he had a heavy German accent; not even his years in the States could get rid of it.

"Good afternoon, Rhonda," Dr. Graf said, "How are you feeling today?"

"Um, good?" asked Rhonda, "Why, should I not?"

"Ohohoho," Dr. Graf laughed heartily, "Zat's funny. No, of course you should feel vonderful!"

"Dr. Graf just needs to draw some blood from us to...update our physicals," Buckley said.

"He's already gotten ours, now we just need to do you," Brooke said.

They were lying, of course. Buckley and Brooke never gave Dr. Graf their blood, and Dr. Graf himself was not updating their physicals. When Spade threatened Buckley to get DNA samples from his daughter, Buckley turned to the only person he could trust to do so, Dr. Graf. Graf himself did not know why they needed blood drawn in such a rushed manner, but they had been some of his most loyal patients in the past, and was willing to help out wherever he could.

"Rhonda, dear, have you had plenty of water today?" Brooke asked.

"...not since I left for home," Rhonda replied.

"Why don't you go drink some water before we do this, pumpkin?" Buckley suggested.

"Ve vouldn't vant you to faint on us while drawing blood," Dr. Graf said.

"Okay..." Rhonda said.

Rhonda was beyond confused why their was such a rush to update their physicals. She knew they would normally drive to the doctor's office to get it done, and even though they had the money to bring Dr. Graf to their own private residence, they wouldn't waste it on that since Dr. Graf's office was so close. She couldn't shake the feeling her parents were hiding something...

* * *

Ashley sat on a bench looking out at Elk Island with the hustle and bustle of Pier 7 going on behind her. Apparently this was where "anyone else" meant to the cab driver. Most of the kids there were playing carnival games or stuffing their faces with cotton candy. Ashley was just sitting with her beanie in her lap, while looking at the inside.

 _From Stevie_ , it read.

"Dammit," she muttered, "Gotta stop doing that."

With her seemingly inhuman hearing, she heard an annoying, nasally southern accent from within the crowd. Twisting her head towards the crowd, she saw the same group of kids from Gerald Field right here at the pier.

"What the...How did they..." she kept asking.

And then she paused. She might know a way to shake them off and have fun at the same time. She stared back out at Elk Island, then at the scruffy looking boatman that just came back in. She smirked as a devious idea came into her head.

"They wanna track me so badly, I'll let them," she said.

Getting off of the bench, she approached the boatman, whom she could tell had not bathed recently, despite practically living on the water. She could feel her nose twitching as she approached him.

"Hey you," she said, "For ten bucks, would you be willing to do me a favor?"

* * *

Haggard stood in front of the newspaper stand, having gotten over his surprise they still printed papers rather than post the news digitally. On the other hand, Hillwood seemed to have more of a 90s vibe than that of the 21st century. He bought a copy of every issue within the past few months, looking for anything involving robberies, money laundering, or trafficking. Those were the only three methods he could think of for stealing hundreds of humanoid vessels and not leave a trace. Of course, this seemed contradictory, because how could they report on something that wasn't there? But in Haggard's experience, there were many times where something that appeared to be one thing was a cover-up for something else.

Haggard had to skip over the articles involving mass killings, military operations, and anything else involving the tragic loss of life. He had nothing but respect for the military and the police, but when he himself picked up a gun, he was neither of those. He was a vigilante, a man who worked outside the law, and as such would not be protected by it when things went wrong. And things went wrong many times.

He hoped he wouldn't have to use one during his investigation.

His thoughts were interrupted by a man who appeared to be high on something, presumably a meth-head, harassing a clean and sharply-dressed blonde woman just outside the deli. The man was scruffy and poorly dressed with a stained t-shirt and baggy pants lowered just enough to show part of his undergarments. The classic 'prison bitch' look.

"I don't have anything for you!" the woman exclaimed.

"I just asking for a lil'!" the man shouted in a raspy voice, grabbing the woman's arm.

"Let go of me!"

"Just lend me some money!"

"No! I don't..."

"C'mon, bitch! You look like you loaded!"

The man was about to raise a hand towards her face, until someone from behind grabbed his wrists, forcefully pulling it back. Both figures looked up to see a large, intimidating man holding him back, and though neither could see it, the meth-head felt his wrist being broken by the other man's raw strength.

"What part about 'no' do you not understand?" Haggard asked in a stern voice.

The meth-head had no response. He just simply tried jerking back. As soon as Haggard let go of his wrists, he fell flatly on his back with the cracked street underneath him. It took a few moments for him to realize he was out of his league and crawl away.

"Thank you so much!" said the girl, "Sorry this little incident interrupted your reading."

"No worries," Haggard said, "I was fed up with the politics section anyway."

The woman giggled lightly as she looked back up at the man who saved her.

"Um...do you wanna grab some coffee?" she asked, "You could bring your papers with you if you'd like."

"Coffee sounds wonderful," Haggard said.

The woman was about to lead the way before turning around extending her hand, "I almost forgot to ask you your name!"

Haggard took his hand into hers, shaking it firmly.

"Haggard."

"I'm Olga," she replied, "Olga Pataki."

* * *

"I'm telling you, she was here!" Sid exclaimed, "I saw a blonde girl sitting at the bench!"

"Like they're aren't any other blondes in town?" Gerald asked, "It's more likely to be Helga than Ashley!"

"Right here, tall-hair," Helga growled.

"My point exactly," Gerald said.

"Why don't we just ask my uncle Earl?" asked Sheena, "He's just sitting there watching everyone else. Maybe he's seen her."

" _Or_ he was dozing off without anyone to escort," Phoebe said.

" _Or_ he might have actually seen Ashley, Pheebs," Helga said in response, leading the group towards him.

The group walked away from the festivities of the pier towards the boatman sitting on the docks.

"Now guys," Gerald said, "He isn't quite known for being the most in-tune guy, no offense, Sheena...point is, we ought to handle this cautiously with..."

"Yo Earl!" Helga shouted, "You seen a blonde girl with a beanie?"

"Or just bark questions at him," Gerald finished.

"Sure did," Earl replied.

"Wait, what?" asked everyone else.

"That was...actually easy," Harold said.

"Where?" asked Sheena.

"She was sitting here by herself just looking out at Elk Island," Earl replied.

"Told you I saw her sitting here!" Sid exclaimed.

"Then she asked me for a ride to Elk Island for some reason or another," Earl said.

"Wait...she actually went to Elk Island?" asked Phoebe.

"I didn't think anybody would still go there anymore," Stinky said, "On account'a our last misadventure there."

"Wheezin' Ed was so last year, Stinkmeister," Helga said, "If Ashley went to Elk Island, then that's where we're going. Unless you're all chicken?"

There were no arguments with where they were going next.

* * *

Dr. Graf pulled up to a storage yard with the designated locker number Buckley gave him. He said there was someone who would collect the blood samples he had gotten, and he was to not tell anyone who he met with. Buckley said it was someone a little on the shady side, but as long as he got what he wanted, no one got hurt. Dr. Graf was still in a rather jovial mood, however, as he had been planning to go hiking through the woods after this nasty business was done.

But he wasn't expecting who he saw when the door to the spacious locker opened.

"Dr. Kroger?" asked Dr. Graf, "You've met vith Buckley?"

Dr. Kroger was leaning against a table with his arms crossed, and was not in his usual lab coat. Rather, he donned a black dress shirt and equally black pants with unusually well-polished shoes. He was middle-aged, but his receding hairline and the wrinkles coming from his high cheekbones made him look much older. And like Dr. Graf, Kroger spoke in a German accent, albeit much lighter, softer-spoken, and less welcoming.

"Never met the man," Dr. Kroger replied, "But I know what I'm here to collect. So, if you please..."

Dr. Kroger held out his palm.

"...the samples, please and thank you."

Dr. Graf, not questioning his old colleague's motives, placed the vials in his hands. Dr. Kroger proceeded to put them on the table next to him.

"Is zis vone of zose times vhere I die to keep quiet, like in ze old zhriller und action movies?" Dr. Graf joked.

"Of course not, Remus," Dr. Kroger laughed, "I'm not going to kill you."

"Ohohohoho!"

" _He_ is."

Before Dr. Graf could comprehend what happened, a lone bullet went in the back of his head and out his forehead, his body falling flatly forward. Spade put down his gun after making yet another kill.

"What do we do with the body?" asked Spade.

"You bury it where I tell you to," Dr. Kroger replied, "And _this_ time, I will accompany you, so as to make sure you don't screw up like the last time."

"My last job was a hit on a rival gang member," Spade growled, "That shit's dead and buried."

"We both know which job I'm talking about," Dr. Kroger said smugly.

Spade growled, but held back his complaints. He grabbed Dr. Graf's body and prepared to get rid of it while Dr. Kroger stared into Rhonda's blood samples.

"I suppose now is time I fulfill _my_ end of the bargain."


	4. Spy Games

After a nauseating boat ride to Elk Island (Harold ended up getting seasick and threw up off the side of the boat), the kids made their way to the cave entrance they were at last time. By now, the sun was setting, and the entrance was looking more grim with less light coming through it.

"Maybe this wasn't such a great idea?" Sid asked, "Even if Ashley was here, she couldn't have stuck around this long."

"Actually, Sid, she only went on the boat once," Phoebe replied, "So unless she swam all the way back to the pier, she would still have to be on the island."

"He knows, Pheebs, he's not always stupid," Helga interjected, "He's just a scaredy-cat!"

"Am not!" Sid cried.

"Then what's the hold-up?" Helga asked, "Let's just track her down already!"

With slight hesitancy, the kids moved forward into the cave.

* * *

Inside the aromatic coffee bar, Olga sipped from her hot latte, feeling the texture of both the coffee itself and the milk fall down her throat as she had listened to Haggard's story. As far as she knew, Haggard had a daughter named Ashley and they both recently moved to Hillwood for a job offer he had gotten.

"The job doesn't start until next week," Haggard said, "So I've been wandering around the city to get used to where I'll be living."

"And you're satisfied so far?" asked Olga.

"No complaints here," Haggard replied, "I was worried I wouldn't adjust well to city life, but so far I feel at ease. I can imagine that's why a young lady like yourself would make a life here."

"Well that wasn't always the plan," Olga said, "Until a few months ago, I was teaching abroad."

"Oh?" Haggard asked curiously, "What changed?"

"Daddy's company expanded quite rapidly and has taken up most of his time," replied Olga, "And Mom quit drinking just before I moved back, so she's been taking...certain steps to get her life back on track. She even got a job helping Daddy at the Beeper Emporium."

"Those sound like good things," Haggard said.

"They are," Olga said, "It's just...I missed my baby sister. And with all the time our parents have spent together, I didn't want Helga being left alone."

Olga didn't mention the fact that Helga was basically alone even before their parents turned their lives around. That wasn't something she was ready to divulge to someone she just met.

"You already sound like a great big sister," Haggard said.

"...I wish she saw me like that," Olga said sadly, "I just feel like she deliberately ignores me whenever I'm around."

"It could just be kids growing up," Haggard said, "I remember the first time Ashley screamed at me, she was just 9 years old and she asked her fa...favorite friend to take her to a block party. I told them no because at the time, we lived in a bad neighborhood and did not have the friendliest neighbors. But she really wanted to go, and I wasn't backing down. She argued with me the whole time until her friend said I was right. Then she said she hated us both and went up to her room screaming."

Olga could have sworn that Haggard was about to say something other than 'favorite'. But she figured it was a slip of the tongue and paid it no mind.

"I've been told that's a normal thing for parents," Olga said, "I don't want to sound spoiled, but mine never really drove me to that point. She at least apologized, right?"

"Of course," Haggard replied, "And I'm glad her...friend was there to make amends too. We didn't know it yet, but that friend...that was the very last time we saw him."

"Oh," Olga said, "I'm sorry to hear that. How did your daughter handle it?"

"Not well," Haggard said, being completely honest without telling the whole truth, "But as they say, time heals all wounds. She's been quite..."

As he spoke, he had turned to look out the window of the cafe. To his surprise, Ashley was walking right by when she too decided to look in and see Haggard sitting and talking with a strange blonde woman. Ashley turned back around and entered the cafe, walking right up to Haggard.

"Ashley?" Haggard said, "I thought you went to explore town."

"I did," Ashley said, "Got bugged by some kids playing ball, so I shook them off."

"Ashley," Haggard said sternly, "You didn't start any fights, did you?"

"Of course not, _Dad_ ," she said, "But I did mess with them a little bit..."

* * *

"Yikes!"

Sid ended up jumping into Gerald's arms at the sound of cracking wood. Needless to say, Gerald was not amused.

"Get a hold of yourself, man," Gerald told him, letting him down easy, "It's just wood."

"Heh heh, sorry," Sid replied, "It's just we've been here a while, guess I got a little jumpy."

"Over an hour, to be precise," Phoebe said.

"And still nothing," Lila said.

"I'm startin' to think we've been sent on a wild goose chase, fellas," Stinky said, "On account'a there being no sign of Ashley anywhere here!"

"Maybe you're right," Gerald said, "It was a good run while it lasted, but I think maybe we got our hopes up."

"I just don't get why Uncle Early would lie about that," Sheena said.

"So...we go home?" asked Harold.

"We go home," Gerald replied.

Gerald, as the de facto leader since Arnold's disappearance, started leading the group back the opposite direction they came in. Phoebe and Helga were trailing along in the back.

"That little skunk," Helga growled.

"We were unlikely to find Arnold here anyway," Phoebe said.

"Not him," Helga hissed, "Ashley! Sending us all the way out here for nothing!"

"Maybe that football-headed boy she saw really wasn't Arnold," Phoebe said, "Perhaps she really was telling the truth."

"As if!" Helga scoffed, "That girl's a schemer! Next time I see her, I'm shoving my fist right down her throat and my foot up her..."

"WAAAHHHH!"

Everyone in front of Helga and Phoebe started screaming simultaneously.

"Keep it down!" hissed Curly, of all people, "They'll see us!"

"Who's they?" Helga asked, "What are you lame-brains talking about?"

Everyone pulled Helga and Phoebe down behind the rocks with them, and Gerald quietly pointed in the direction of one of the caverns up ahead. Helga peeked out and from it, she saw five figures in the distance, none of whom she could recognize...at first. The very first face they recognized was that of Dr. Graf, one of the local physicians. Only he wasn't his usual jolly self. In fact, he didn't even appear to be alive.

"Is he...dead?" asked Sid, starting to panic.

His body was being held by his collar by an all too familiar face to the natives of Hillwood...Spade. He was standing impatiently by the third man, Dr. Kroger, who was completely unknown to the kids, but still rather distinguishable. Two of Spade's fellow thugs consisted of the other two figures standing by him.

"Spade," Gerald said, "If I had a nickel for every story Fuzzy Slippers had about him..."

"Guess the good Dr. Graf was his next target in a long list of needless victims," Stinky said morosely.

"I'm oh too certain Rhonda will be devastated by this," Lila said.

"Guess it's a good thing she didn't come with us," Gerald said.

"Nonsense," Curly said, "It's never as much fun without her here."

"I'm not even in the mood to argue with that," Helga said, "But seriously, what did Dr. Graf do to Spade to deserve this?"

"If I know my criminal activity," Curly replied, "Don't ask _how_ I know..."

"We don't actually care how you know," Helga grunted.

"Point being," Curly continued, "is that I think it's less about Spade and more about our mystery guest standing next to him."

In his own twisted way, he was right. Dr. Kroger gave the order, and Spade and this thugs dropped Dr. Graf's body into the fresh hole.

"How exactly do we explain this to the Lloyds?" asked Spade, "Buckley's not stupid, he'll see a connection."

"We say nothing to them," Dr. Kroger replied coldly, "Now that I have what I want from them, they are of little concern to me _unless_ they threaten to go public about us."

"What about the client?" Spade asked.

"What about her?" asked Dr. Kroger, "The repercussions of Scheck's arrest is _her_ problem, not _ours_. She can do whatever she wants with her share of the bargain. _We_ have our own goals."

"Suit yourself, mate," Spade said, "But I still think we should work on a cover-up for Graf's disappearance."

"Then make one up," Dr. Kroger said, "If it makes you feel better. I have other matters to attend to."

As Dr. Kroger walked off, Spade and his thugs were whispering among themselves, no longer audible to the eavesdropping children.

" _What_ was that about?" Helga asked.

"None of what they said makes sense," Gerald replied, "I could have sworn they mentioned Scheck at some point."

"They did," Phoebe said, "Even though he's behind bars."

"What are _we_ supposed to do?" asked Harold.

"The logical thing, duh!" Gerald said, "We tell the police..."

"The question is," Phoebe said, "What do we tell them? And will they even believe us?"

* * *

"Oh, this is your daughter!" Olga squealed, "Hi, I'm Olga Pataki!"

Ashley didn't respond, but shook her hand anyway, sitting next to Haggard.

"Olga and I met earlier and decided to chat," Haggard replied.

"He saved me from a rather grabby meth-head," Olga said, "Quite the knight in shining armor, he is."

"You flatter me too much," Haggard replied, "Just doing what any decent guy would do."

"Well," Olga said, "There really aren't a lot of those here..."

Dr. Kroger sat in the dingy boat Earl had used to take tourists to Elk Island. Unlike Spade, who rode in on a flashy boat, Dr. Kroger was a bit more clandestine. He had even rolled up his sleeves to not look too proper for the location. But he still looked much cleaner than the scruffy fisherman taking him back to the pier. Once he arrived, Dr. Kroger steadily put both feet back on the docks, and pulled a $100 bill from his pocket.

"If anyone asks," he said, "I was never here."

"My lips are sealed," Earl told him, accepting the bribe.

As Earl put away the rest of his gear for the night, Dr. Kroger pulled out his phone when he felt it buzzing in his pocket.

"Yes?" he answered, "...oh really? Well that _is_ interesting. And you say she's where? No, don't approach her yet, but keep me posted. This _is_ an interesting development."

He hung up the phone and smiled smugly at nothing.

"So...Ashley Cliffe is here."


	5. First Night Home

"Welp, that didn't go like I hoped," Gerald said dejectedly.

All the kids were standing under a streetlight just outside the police station. They had gone in and reported that they witnessed some thugs dumping a dead body at Elk Island. But the police laughed their socks off (some of them even spewed coffee from their mouths), and they remembered that unless your name was Arnold Shortman, kids were not taken seriously by adults.

"Why wouldn't those jerks listen to us?" asked Harold.

"We're still just kids," Phoebe replied, "Even though we were all witnesses, to them we just have overactive imaginations."

"If Arnold told them, they'd go after Spade in a second," Sid said.

"Even so..." Phoebe started.

"He's not wrong, Pheebs," Helga said, "Football-head was always a goody-goody, of course they'd believe him."

"So what do we do now?" Stinky asked.

"We figure this out ourselves," Gerald replied, "We've got to find Ashley and see what she knows!"

"Perhaps we should put that off for tomorrow, Gerald," Phoebe said, "As we've learned the hard way, she's smart and she's sneaky. We won't make much progress tonight. She's probably home right now like everyone else."

Gerald sighed in frustration, knowing that Phoebe was probably right.

"Alright, you win," Gerald said, "We'll do it tomorrow."

"In that case I'm off to Slausens!" Harold said.

"Count us in!" Sid and Stinky said, running after him.

Lila and Sheena walked home in one direction, while Helga and Phoebe walked in the other. Gerald, finding himself alone at last, walked towards his house but made a sharp turn into an inconspicuous alleyway.

"I'll bet Fuzzy Slippers knows something..."

* * *

The creaky front door of Sunset Arms opened up, and Haggard walked in with Ashley coming in behind him. It was already nighttime by the time they got back, and Gertie had been chasing Abner around while wearing a cowboy hat. Neither of them wanted to ask the story behind that. Phil had come in just behind her screaming out at her.

"That's not dinner, Gertie! That's Arnold's...! Oh, forget it. They'll be fine," he said, before seeing the two walk in, "Oh hello. How was your first day?"

"Enlightening," Ashley replied in monotone.

"What she _means_ ," Haggard said, pinching Ashley's side, "is that we had a good chance to explore the city."

"Lot of people have history here," Phil told him, "Gertie and I grew up here as kids, Short Man's dad was raised here, and a lot of his friends parents grew up here as well."

"Who's Short Man?" asked Haggard.

"Our grandson," Phil said, "Bright kid, always a helping hand..."

Suddenly, Phil's tone became much more somber.

"At least while he was around."

"I'm sorry," Haggard said, "When did he die?"

"Oh, he didn't," Phil replied, "He just disappeared. It's been weeks since we've seen him. Still writes letters, though, but there's never a return address, so we have no idea where he's writing them from."

"Your grandson," Ashley asked, "Is his name Arnold?"

"Yeah! As a matter of fact, it is!" Phil exclaimed, "But how did you know?"

"I met some of his friends today," Ashley replied, "They spoke fondly of him. But they haven't heard from them since he left. He's been writing you letters?"

"Mostly just assuring me he's okay, wherever he is," Phil replied, "Never actually said why he left, though."

Phil chuckled a little, as if someone had told him a corny pun.

"You know what's funny about it, though?" he asked, speaking to no one in particular, "His parents disappeared when he was a boy as well. It's like everybody in the family just up and leaves."

"Oh," Haggard said, "I'm sorry we brought it up."

"Don't be," Phil replied, cheering up a little, "At least I know Short Man's okay."

They heard the sound of pans crashing loudly on the kitchen floor. Since everyone else was out or upstairs, it meant either Abner or Gertie (or both) had been messing around on the counters.

"Dang it, better make sure they don't break anything," Phil said, walking off into the kitchen.

Haggard looked inquisitively down at Ashley as they walked up the stairs.

"Sounds like you did a little investigating of your own," Haggard replied.

"As if," Ashley said, "I _wish_ I was that entertained. Nah, my only real entertainment today came from messing with those kids."

"Would those kids be Arnold's friends?" asked Haggard.

"They wouldn't stop pestering me about Arnold," Ashley replied, "They think I know what happened to him just because I ran into a football-headed kid that looked like him today."

Haggard opened their apartment door for her as she walked in, complaining further about Arnold's friends.

"Well they didn't sound hostile," Haggard replied, "What's there to complain about?"

"They're just too...normal," Ashley complained, "No care in the world, no problems to worry about..."

"Maybe," Haggard said, "But appearances...can be deceiving. Did anyone ever tell you not to judge a book by its cover?"

"Yeah," Ashley replied morbidly, "My parents did."

"Right, of course," Haggard replied, "I'll, uh...I'll just go brush my teeth and get ready for bed."

Haggard grabbed some toiletries and shower tools and went across the hall to the bathroom. Ashley got up and looked out the window, staring out into a bland brick wall from the next building over...

* * *

...Rhonda, meanwhile, stared out of her own window, but with a view of the streets below, as well as the houses across the street. In this part of town, it got quiet at night, even during summer. It was the kind of tranquility fit for a princess. At least when your cell phone was dead and charging. Otherwise, she would have texted her friends for details about Ashley and how their search went. Her mind had stayed on that until she heard a knock on her door.

"It's open," Rhonda replied.

Her father came into the room in his bathrobe and slippers, not stepping far from the door.

"Just wanted to say goodnight to you," Buckley said, "Your mother and I have an early morning tomorrow, so we're turning in for the night."

"Okay, goodnight Daddy," she said, sitting on top of her bed.

Buckley was about to leave, but then stopped himself in the middle of his tracks and looked back at his daughter.

"You know your mother and I love you very much, right?" he asked.

"Of course I do, Daddy!"

"And that...that we would never intentionally do anything to hurt you," he added hesitantly, "Or your friends."

"Y-Yeah, of course I know that, Daddy!" Rhonda exclaimed, a little nervous and put off, "Why are you saying that, though?"

"I just want you to know how much we love you," he added, "We love you so much."

Rhonda got up off her bed and hugged her father. She could smell his body soap even before she embraced him. But at least she couldn't see the worried look in his eyes when he hugged her. After what seemed like an eternity, Buckley finally let go and headed back for the door.

"Goodnight, pumpkin," he said.

"Goodnight, Daddy."

Once he was far enough away from Rhonda's room, he took out his phone and dialed Dr. Graf's number. This was the fifth time today he had done so. And like all the times before, he got no answer. He had become increasingly worried something had gone wrong.

* * *

Gerald took one last look at his watch, noting the time. He had waited about 20 minutes for a sign Fuzzy Slippers would be coming. He started to feel like he was wasting his time. At least until he heard a loud "klunk" sound nearby. That had to be Fuzzy Slippers.

"Finally," he said.

He followed the sound around the alleyway, but saw no one. Just the end of the alley and a streetlight glowing into it. But he did see something that both confused and intrigued him.

A pair of fuzzy slippers. They were not dirty and ripped like footwear found in the streets should be. These were fluffy and beige with not a trace of dirt or even soot on them.

"Did he...leave these here for me?" asked Gerald aloud.

Approaching the slippers that looked out of place in the environment, he saw something sticking out from the insole of the left slipper. Gerald knelt down and pulled on it further, gradually revealing an old Polaroid of what appeared to be the subway station, just by the pay phone. Written on the bottom was the very saying he himself had once told Arnold during their past adventure involving the subway; "Sun goes down, stay above ground."

"What's this supposed to be, Fuzzy Slippers?" Gerald asked, "What does this have to do with Arnold?"

* * *

Ashley lay awake in her bed while Haggard was already asleep. Her mind did not want to rest the way her body did. She kept thinking about those kids who were pestering her about that Arnold boy. She began to wonder what he was like. If he was really the noble knight they claimed he was. At least the ones who weren't Helga. That was the other person she couldn't stop thinking about. Something about that girl really pissed her off. She couldn't explain why, but something about her rubbed Ashley the wrong way. And not just because thinking about her was costing her precious sleep time.

"This job is gonna suck," Ashley muttered to herself.

She turned over to her side and shut her eyes, trying once again to get some sleep.


	6. Common Ground

Two days had passed already. Though Ashley had been out and around town just randomly checking out local shops and eateries, she had not run into those kids again. Not even whenever she passed by Gerald Field. Ironic, since every one of them was looking for _her_. But try as they might, they had no luck finding her, even with the extra heads of Rhonda and Nadine joining in on the search. They had now met in the tree house built upon Mighty Pete, the oldest (and possibly only) tree in the neighborhood. The meeting in question was arranged by Gerald, who decided to finally show everyone the photo Fuzzy Slippers gave him.

"Isn't this the subway?" asked Harold.

"Is it?" Gerald replied sarcastically, "Because I never would have known if you hadn't just said that!"

"But what's with the quote written on it?" asked Phoebe, "'Sun goes down, stay above ground?' What does that mean?"

"All I know is that it's what I told Arnold that night," Gerald replied, "Now, I know Fuzzy Slippers knows just about everything about everyone, but I never thought he would have known about that."

"Maybe he knows where Arnold is?" asked Sid.

"Then why doesn't that creep just _tell_ us where he is?" asked Helga, "Why all the hidden messages?"

"I dunno, Helga," Gerald replied, "That's not his M.O. Normally he just tells me what I need to know. He's never this cryptic."

"Which is why it's so important we find Ashley first," Rhonda stated, "If she knows something about Arnold..."

"Is Ashley blonde?" asked Nadine, who was standing by the window.

"Yes, she actually is," Rhonda replied.

"With a braid and baggy pants?"

"Uh, I guess?" Rhonda replied with uncertainty, "At least she did last time we met. Why?"

"Because I think that's her down there," Nadine replied, pointing her finger out the window, "The one talking to Lila right now."

Everyone else jumped out of their seats.

"SHE WHAT?!"

* * *

A few minutes earlier, during Ashley's trek throughout the neighborhood, she stumbled upon Mighty Pete, noticing the tree house with the outhouse attached to it. Someone must have had a lot of time on their hands. She brought her sight back down to the street in front of her, but now was met with the face of a freckled redhead she hoped not to see.

"You again?" Ashley growled.

"Ashley?" Lila asked in surprise.

Ashley wasted no time turning her back to the girl, starting to walk off.

"Wait!" Lila exclaimed, "Please don't go!"

"Are you gonna bug me about that kid you guys are looking for?"

"No! Well, yes...well, not bug you about it, just ask you...um, it's just ever so important to us," Lila said nervously.

"Clearly," Ashley said, pulling her hands out from her pockets, "Just who are you kids, exactly?"

"We're his friends," Lila replied.

"Yeah, I figured _that_ much," Ashley replied, "I meant how?"

"We all go to school together," Lila said, "We hang out after school, we play sports together, we have adventures together..."

"Okay, I get it," Ashley said, putting her hand up, "Crazy adventures, huh? Typical kid stuff?"

"Sometimes," Lila replied, "But that's not always the case. Sometimes it's a bit more serious, like when our neighborhood was almost torn down by Future Tech, or when we almost got flooded..."

"Wait, what was that?" asked Ashley.

"We were at school when the flood started, it nearly went one story up..."

"No, not the flood!" Ashley said, a little more curious, "I meant the Future Tech thing? That was Arnold?"

"He exposed their CEO for his crimes and saved the neighborhood," Lila said, "As if he wasn't already a neighborhood hero."

In actuality, she had known about Scheck. Lou told her it was 'Phil's grandson' that caused his downfall. She had just forgotten about it with all the fuss of moving to a new city she found herself bored in. But now she found herself with a possible lead. She might even get closer to Scheck than Haggard. She was now legitimately intrigued.

"You know," Ashley said, "Call me crazy, but I've had a change of heart. If this friend of yours really means that much to you, I _guess_ I can take time from my _busy_ schedule to help you guys."

"Really?" asked Lila, cheering up considerably, "Oh, thank you ever so much!"

* * *

"What are they talking about?" asked Stinky.

"I can't tell," Rhonda replied.

"But you're the gossip queen!" Helga replied.

"That doesn't mean I can read lips!" Rhonda hissed.

"Wait...I think they're done talking," Sid said.

"Is she bringing her in?" asked Gerald.

"Well this should be interesting," Curly said.

Lila and Ashley climbed up into Mighty Pete, surprising everyone else in there, most of all Helga.

"Ashley's agreed to help us look for Arnold!" Lila exclaimed excitedly.

Before everyone could express the shock that was already visible on their faces, Ashley butted in.

"I'm not trying to get too chummy with you guys," Ashley said, "Not gonna pretend I am. But the way I see it, Arnold's a guy who helps people with problems, and I've got a...problem or two he may be able to help with. So helping you find Arnold is a win-win for me."

"Help that comes with a price," Curly said, "I'm impressed."

"Well, I guess, welcome aboard," Gerald said, "I'm Gerald, this is Helga..."

Helga grunted and crossed her arms, donning her signature scowl.

"And that's Rhonda, Phoebe, Nadine, Curly, Harold, Sid, and Stinky. You might have already met Eugene and Sheena when we were at Gerald Field, but they've got some theater project going on."

"Good to know," Ashley said, "So if I'm gonna be helping you guys with this search, where do we start?"

"With you, actually," Phoebe said, "You mentioned running into a football-headed boy before meeting us at Gerald Field, and though it's possible it wasn't actually Arnold, it would still help to know _where_ you were when you ran into him."

"By some Round Theater or something?" Ashley replied, though it was really more of a question.

"Circle Theater?" Gerald asked, "Yeah, we know where that is."

"Then I'll let you lead me there," Ashley said.

Though no one else noticed, Helga's scowl got considerably angrier when she looked at Ashley. No one else was suspicious of Ashley's change of heart. Either everyone else was too gullible, Phoebe included, or Helga was onto something Ashley was hiding from them. Or both.

* * *

A large man with graying hair and a green polo on his torso was lifting a heavy box into Big Bob's Beepers. Big Bob Pataki was unloading storage into the store of his namesake, conveniently leaving the back door open while he unpacked the newest shipment of cell phones. With the rise of mobile phones in the digital market, Bob made the reluctant decision to add some cellular devices to his line of products. It was a tough choice he had to make to stay on top of the game, and it's worked out for him thus far. Plus, now that his wife was regularly attending AA meetings, he had an extra hand to help manage the business. At least when she wasn't fighting the temptation to go back to drinking, which usually happened after a long day of work. Which made Bob even more grateful that Olga was back in town.

Bob was broken out of his reminiscing when he heard footsteps coming towards him. He mentally berated himself for forgetting to close the back door, relying too much on his own physical prowess to scare off potential thieves. But the man who was approaching him was no thief, nor did he appear harmful. The mustachioed man, much smaller than Bob, looked like a scared pet crawling back to its owner.

"Buckley?" asked Bob, "What are you doing here? We're not even open yet."

Buckley looked pale, as if he hadn't had a good nights rest in ages.

"Come of think of it, you looked scared of something," Bob said, "If it's about any of those business deals you proposed to me, I'm not ruling them out, I'm just iffy ever since the whole Scheck fiasco..."

"Gemini Labs is back in town," Buckley said.

It was a good thing Bob had already put the box on the counter, or else he would have dropped it on the floor when he heard the news.

"How do you know?" asked Bob, "Did you see them somewhere? Did you read about it? I'm also kinda iffy about tabloids ever since..."

"They sent Spade," Buckley replied, "They demanded I repay them for...their favors."

"Did you?"

"I had to!" Buckley said defending himself, "You know as well as I do what they're capable of!"

"Odd," Bob said, "None of them have come up to me about what _I_ owe them."

"That's why I came to you," Buckley said, "I had Dr. Graf give them the...payment they wanted, but I haven't gotten a response from him since he left our home. Bob, I'm worried something terrible has happened. Or worse, terrible things will keep happening."

"How can that be?" asked Bob, "Kaspar Corr is dead. Killed in some bombing incident. I thought Gemini Labs would have died with him."

"And yet they literally knocked on my front door," Buckley said, "Bob, maybe _you're_ not worried about this, but I have a daughter..."

"I have _two_ ," Bob replied, "So believe me when I say I don't take this news lightly. If Gemini is still active, that means somebody's taken charge in Kaspar Corr's absence."

"But what would be the point?" asked Buckley, "Kaspar was the one with the vision! The one getting everyone and their mothers in his pocket! If he's dead, why would someone rush around collecting on debts that aren't even theirs?"

Bob's brows furrowed, his mind deep in thought.

"If we want to survive this," Bob said, "We need to figure out who's in charge of this little side mission."

" _And_ how they got one of Hillwood's biggest criminals to do their dirty work," Buckley added.

* * *

Spade waited impatiently in the car as his goons came back from their errand. And by errand, it really means burying Dr. Graf's recent files in an abandoned field near the subway station, far away from his actual body. The poor man was never meant to end up in Spade's crossfire, nor Dr. Kroger's. It was his own rotten luck he was the most trustworthy physician in the city with some of the most prominent patients. But Spade was not an idiot. Even if Graf's body was never found, people would suspect some form of foul play. There would be whispers in the streets, a few ranting articles in some shitty tabloids, maybe even go down as an urban legend. The disapearing doctor.

Spade finally breathed regularly when his goons got into the backseat of the car.

"About frickin' time!" he blasted, "What took you so long?"

"You ever try hiding a dead guy's confidential files in broad daylight?" one goon asked rhetorically, "It ain't easy!"

"It shouldn't take you all morning, either," Spade said, "If any of this comes back to us, I'm taking you both down with me."

"What about Vic and Morrie?" the other goon asked, "Why didn't they have to do this?"

"Kroger needed them for something special," Spade replied, starting the car engine, "I wasn't about to argue about that."

"You're, uh, letting this Kroger guy call a lot of the shots lately," the first goon said, "Why you lettin' a pencil pusher like that give orders to the biggest name in Hillwood's criminal underbelly?"

Spade remained silent for the longest time. He didn't say a word until he put the car in drive gear.

"That pencil pusher," Spade answered, "is NOT someone you want to piss off."


	7. The Devil You Know

"It's the one over here," Gerald said, leading the other kids to the front of the theater.

"It's gotta be," Ashley said, "I remember this exact spot."

"So explain what happened while you were here, if you could," Phoebe said.

Ashley walked up to the exact spot where she bumped into a football-headed kid that may or may not have been Arnold. She told them how she had bumped into him and had proceeded to follow the sidewalk towards Gerald Field where she first met them.

"Yeah, I knew it, this was a dead end," Helga quipped, "Leave it to the newbie to lead us on a wild goose chase _again_."

"Hey, I told you it wasn't that big a deal," Ashley barked back, "And what do you mean 'again'?"

"Oh, you just conveniently forgot you sent us to Elk Island over nothing," Helga replied.

"Well, silly me," Ashley replied with faux coy, "My mistake for not knowing my way around a city I've only lived in for a few days."

"It was deliberate, and you know it!" Helga exclaimed.

"Calm down, Helga!" Gerald said.

"Can it, Tall-Hair," Helga bitterly replied, "She tricked us with Elk Island, how do we know she isn't tricking us now?"

"Or if she isn't leading us to another dangerous scene like with those..." Curly interjected.

Harold bumped Curly's side, almost knocking off his glasses into the pavement.

"With what?" asked Ashley.

"If we could get back to the subject," Phoebe said, "You just barely missed this."

Phoebe pointed to a Missing Persons poster with Arnold as the subject. The sides were crumpled and faded, showing just how long it had really been since Arnold disappeared. Ashley walked over to it next to Phoebe and Gerald.

"So this is him?" asked Ashley.

"The man himself," Gerald said, "And he's out there somewhere. "

Everyone sans Ashley looked at the poster with sadness. How long had it been since he went missing? It had been a few weeks, but it felt like months to his friends.

"I miss him so much," Rhonda said.

"We all do, Rhonda," Nadine said.

"Even if some won't admit it," Phoebe said, sternly looking at Helga for her outburst.

While Helga glared at Phoebe for knowing better, Curly turned and whispered to the three stooges accompanying them while Lila stood by watching their conversation.

"What did you do that for, you big lard?" Curly hissed.

"Come on," Harold told him, "Even I know not to go blurting about those thugs! If those dunderheads at the police station wouldn't believe us, why would anybody else?"

"I'm ever so certain we're on our own for that," Lila said.

"Besides," Stinky said, "Miss Rhonda don't know about Dr. Graf yet!"

"And we can't exactly trust Ashley with that sort of thing," Sid said, "Not yet anyway."

"Why would she even care about a bunch if thugs?" Curly asked, "Maybe Spade, he's kind of a big deal, made a name for himself on the streets, but I doubt any of those other knuckleheads care about a bunch of kids, least of all Ashley."

* * *

Inside his penthouse suite, Dr. Kroger was twirling around a thickly wrapped cigar in between his fingers. He did not light the cigar; he absolutely detested the habit, and he detested whenever anyone around him partook in smoking, such as the two crooks sitting across from him in the living room. Vic and Morrie had cheap cigarettes in their mouths, not caring that they were indoors, they lit them up anyway.

"You know that is a nasty habit," Kroger said, "Could kill you."

"What do you care?" asked Vic.

"I don't," Kroger replied, "I was simply making an observation as a researcher who deals in the business of extending life."

"But don't you also kill people?" Morrie asked.

"I have people to do that for me, people like Spade," Kroger replied, "The less dirty my own hands get, the better.

Kroger discarded the unlit cigar in the small trash bin by him, having grown tired of twirling it around.

"Which, by the way, is why you're here."

"Whoa, there," Vic said, "There's a big difference between thugs for hire and guns for hire. We ain't killers!"

"Relax, you silly little man," Kroger responded, "It's simple, I assure you. First thing I need to know, however, is how you knew Ashley Cliffe was here in Hillwood."

"Well, we were over at the boarding house playing cards with our good mate Oskar," Vic replied, "We see her walking in the hall and her dad calls her over..."

"Wait a minute," Kroger said, suddenly looking displeased, "Her _father_?"

"Had to be," Morrie replied, "He's the only other new person we've seen in the boarding house."

"Perhaps you two really are as dumb as you look," Kroger said, "Ashley's parents are dead. She's been an orphan for the last few years."

"No we swear! It really is her!" Vic said, "He called her by name!"

" _Who_ called her by name?" Kroger asked sternly, "It certainly wasn't her father!"

"The big guy! The bald dude with the beard!" Morrie exclaimed.

"Her father never had..."

Kroger suddenly remembered someone else who would.

"Haggard..." he said to himself, "I see...so that's what their game is."

"Whose game?" Morrie asked.

"Not your concern," Kroger replied, "What matters is that you were not mistaken. That really is Ashley Cliffe."

"So...what's that got to do with us?" asked Vic.

"Aside from not getting spotted by her, nothing," Kroger said, "I just needed to be sure how reliable you really are. Your real job..."

Kroger pulled out a package that, unknown to the two crooks sitting in front of him, contained vials of blood samples, one of which belonged to Rhonda Wellington Lloyd.

"...is to take that to the address written on the box," he said, "You MUST hand it to the woman living there _personally_. I will take no chances of anyone else getting their hands on this. No one outside this room can know this exists."

"Not even your guys at Gemini?" Morrie asked.

It was difficult to read the expression on Kroger's face, except that it looked faintly like concern and slight disdain.

" _Especially_ not them."

* * *

Lila looked up at one of the posters on the wall. It was for a live performance of the musical "The Music Man." She used to enjoy it immensely. The play itself, she still did. But with that memory came...

"Yo Lila!" Ashley called out.

The blonde had pulled herself away from the group and walked up to Lila where she stood.

"Oh, hello Ashley," Lila said, "Any luck?"

"The kid detectives are trying to search for new leads," she replied, "Like I said, I'm new to Hillwood, so I won't know where to go next."

"I see," Lila said, "Still, we're ever so grateful you're taking time from your busy life to help us. I know you weren't too happy about how things have worked out, but it really means a lot to us. To me."

"I wouldn't say it's that busy," Ashley said half-jokingly, "I mean, I'm helping _you guys_ , right?"

"I'm being serious," Lila said.

"So was I," Ashley replied, "Arnold might...have some answers I'm looking for."

Ashley looked up at the poster towering over the two girls, realizing it was what had Lila's attention before.

"The Music Man, eh?" Ashley asked curiously, "You into musicals?"

"Oh yes, ever so much!" Lila replied positively, "My mother and I used to watch them a lot when I was younger. It's what inspired me to do 'Eugene, Eugene!' with Eugene!"

"Try saying that ten times fast," Ashley joked, "So is your mom gonna take you to this?"

"Um, not exactly," Lila replied, "She died a couple years ago. Just before my dad moved us to the city."

"Oh," Ashley said, realizing what she had said, "Sorry. I didn't know."

"It happens," Lila said, "She was in a barn fire. We used to live on a farm when I was younger, and she knew everything there was to know about animal biology. I think she was there because one of the horses was sick."

"Um, when the fire...y'know happened," Ashley said, "Was it just your mom in there? Did the farm animals...make it out?"

Lila shook her head sadly, "No. They perished as well. That's why my dad had to move us here. He needed a new livelihood to keep a roof over our heads, and I'm oh too certain we couldn't do that on a farm with no animals."

Ashley almost wanted to tell her everything about her own parents. Who Haggard really is and why they were here. Something about this innocent redhead wanted to make her come clean. But doing so would jeopardize their entire mission, so she just took off her beanie.

"I got this from someone close to me," Ashley said, "I always called him Stevie. He didn't really like that name, but I wasn't...too comfortable with such familiarity, so I stuck with it."

"Who was he?" asked Lila.

Ashley gripped tighter on the beanie in her hands as if it would somehow do anything.

"He...he was family," Ashley said, "Then he was gone. And this is what I have left of him."

"Come to think of it, I'm ever so certain many of us have lost someone important," Lila mused.

"Sucks, doesn't it?" Ashley wondered, "How shit like this works."

"How things just happen for no reason?" Lila asked, "Yes, it's oh too sad, but I've made great friends here in Hillwood. Right now, I can't imagine my life without them in it."

"All good things come to an end, Lila," Ashley said bitterly, "So enjoy it while you can."

"Hey Lila! Ashley!" Sid exclaimed, "We found a lead!"

"Coming!" both exclaimed.

As Lila skipped back towards her friends, Ashley put her beanie back on her head, pondering what Lila said. About things happening for no reason. Then she thought about those close to her. Particularly her parents.

 _Bullshit_ , she thought, _There's always a reason._

* * *

Inside the Office of Public Records, Buckley managed to pull a few strings with some inside friends and got access to the files related to his past transactions with Gemini Labs. Hopefully, there would be a few names that pop out. Buckley had already looked worn out from what little they've achieved alone.

"Any luck?" asked Bob Pataki, sitting in the chair right across from him.

"A lot of names on their end," Buckley said, "And not just Kaspar Corr. Coral Blunt, Errol Blunt, then there's Dreamer, Kroger, Mavos, but none really seem to be related."

"What about any of their clients?" asked Bob.

"Aside from myself, I see familiar names...," Buckley twirled his moustache as his eyes ran down the list, "Let's see, the Tangs, the Pickles, the Griplings...oh my."

"What is it?"

"He's not a...client, per se," Buckley replied, "I can't believe I didn't recognize this name before, but...he's mentioned a few times, so he must be a person of interest, this Beaumont 'Beau' Sawyer."

"Wait, is that..."

"Mr. Sawyer? Young Lila's father?" Buckley answered, "I believe so."

"I thought he was a farmer?"

"Before he moved to Hillwood, yes. But then he got a job here in the city."

"But if he's not a client, then..."

"Right...there's a good chance he's an employee of Gemini Labs."

* * *

"The subway?" asked Ashley, "How do you get that from an ad for it on the side of a newspaper stand?"

"It's not the first hint we've got involving the subway," Gerald replied, "The quote Fuzzy Slippers wrote out...it was exactly the same warning I gave Arnold about the subway at that's exactly what's written over the ad."

That much was true. Red sharpie covered the bulletin, reading 'Sun goes down, stay above ground.'

"Then wouldn't it make more sense to go at night?" Ashley asked, "In case you hadn't noticed, it's broad daylight!"

"They have to be connected somehow," Gerald retorted.

"Besides, no one put you in charge," Helga told Ashley, "You're not the boss of us!"

"You do _not_ want to go toe to toe with _me_ , unibrow," Ashley hissed, "I'll make you eat your words and a couple of your teeth."

"Girls!" Gerald exclaimed, "As entertaining as a chick fight would be, we need to take a look around the subway. Even if it _is_ broad daylight."

"Fine," Ashley sighed.

Once again, as the other kids walked off towards their next destination, Helga glared intensely at Ashley, watching as she strutted alongside them like she knew better. The girl was enough to drive Helga crazy. And then she held onto the locket she secretly carried with her, one that contained a photo of someone for whom she had conflicting feelings.

 _Oh Arnold_...


	8. Pointing North

Ashley, in her boredom, kicked around a lone rock that was on the ground as the other kids looked around the subway. In all honesty, they were wasting a lot of time, as most of what was left was just old newspapers and dried piss and vomit. Ashley did _not_ want to be there, but she already promised she would help. In any case, it was the middle of the afternoon, meaning the whole "Sun goes down, stay above ground" thing might become a more promising lead than just a recurring quote.

"You look bored," came a voice from behind.

Ashley turned and saw Rhonda sitting down on one of the benches with her phone in hand. She didn't look displeased to see her.

"Honestly, I think they're all swatting at flies," Ashley said, "All I've seen so far is trash...and other unpleasant substances."

"Which is why I'm here," Rhonda said, noting the distance between the two of them and everyone else, "I want to find Arnold too, but I am NOT going near what is probably an STD on a stick!"

"On that, we agree," Ashley said, sitting down next to the raven-haired girl.

"So," Rhonda said, "Since I'm not _physically_ searching the subway, I thought I'd at least do a little research on it. Did you know this was built under land my father's ancestors originally owned? It would certainly explain why he has such disdain for this particular form of transportation...besides the bums, of course."

"Uh, hello," Ashley said, "Still the new girl. Still don't know everyone's history."

"Right, of course," Rhonda said, "Anyway, that's not the point. I learned it was used as part of a criminal network in the 19th century...kind of an evil version of the Underground Railroad. The publications on it said its agents used drawings and key words to lead people towards their destinations."

"Where are you going with this?" asked Ashley.

Rhonda scooted closer to Ashley, close enough that their shoulders touched, and showed her what was on the screen. Ashley's curiosity peaked.

"Look at what one of their most common key phrases was," Rhonda said.

There it was, written across a poster of a harbor on the brick walls of the building.

"Sun goes down, stay above ground," Ashley said.

"Right," Rhonda said, "Originally they started using it to tell clients where to go to make transfers, but historically, after realizing it was too easy to figure that code out, it became a way to tell them to stay out of the subway during nighttime. Apparently in Hillwood that was when the underground network was swept by...well, whatever existed before the FBI. It was during daytime when they were safe from the law, so that's when they would make their deals."

"So the whole 'sun goes down, stay above ground' thing isn't an actual clue, per se," Ashley deducted, "It's a...compass, of sorts. A way to lead someone to something."

"That's what I'm thinking," Rhonda replied.

"You're smarter than you look," Ashley said.

Of course, Ashley meant that as a joke. But Rhonda didn't respond. Originally proud of finding such a pivotal piece of information in their search for Arnold, Rhonda's smile turned into a dejected sigh.

"I'm not stupid," Rhonda said, "Just because I'm rich and beautiful doesn't mean I'm clueless."

"I...didn't say you were?" asked Ashley.

"...I know you didn't," Rhonda responded, "It just gets so old when people only look at my money and not my personality."

"I thought you enjoyed when people marveled at your clothes," Ashley said.

"Oh hell yeah!" Rhonda exclaimed, "Hell to the yeah! I love showing off my clothing! If I've ever been geeky about anything, it's fashion!"

"There's a bombshell for you," Ashley said.

"But I'm still a person, Ashley," Rhonda said, "I'm perfectly capable of caring about others. Just because I like to show off my possessions doesn't mean I would ever value material things over my friends, and certainly not over my family!"

"I believe you, Rhonda," Ashley said, "You wouldn't care so much about finding Arnold if you didn't."

"Of course I care about him," Rhonda said, "He's like the _one_ good person among us. He could literally do no wrong."

"Even by Helga?" asked Ashley.

"So you noticed, too?" Rhonda replied, "Yes, he even gives _her_ the benefit of the doubt."

"What IS her deal, anyway?" Ashley asked, "She's done nothing but stare daggers at me this whole time."

"Honestly, you look pretty tough," Rhonda said, "Could be a dominance thing."

"I'm not looking for a fight," Ashley said.

That wasn't entirely true. She had been itching for some action since she got to Hillwood. She just didn't know who she would get to fight during their mission. Now it sounded like Helga might be the one itching for a fight as well. All the two needed was a reason to start throwing fisticuffs.

"That usually doesn't fly with Helga," Rhonda said, "If she has it out for someone, it sticks like punch on a fur coat. Don't ask."

Ashley almost did, but there was hardly any time. Gerald motioned for the two girls over to where everyone else was. Both knew they had found something. And they both had a faint idea of what it was.

* * *

Vic and Morrie stood in front of the freshly painted house that stood in between the other, less decorated homes. They had been standing there for the past few minutes, not even bothering to ring the doorbell. They were told to not leave it for anyone, only to the woman who lived there. But they had no idea who the woman was or if she was even home. And as boring as it was to just stand around and wait, they didn't dare disobey Kroger's orders. His very presence made them uneasy, so needless to say, doing the job was relatively more pleasant than getting it.

"How long do we gotta wait here?" Morrie whined, "I'm burning up!"

"So am I," said Vic, "But we got a job, and there ain't no way I'm getting on that guy's bad side!"

Awkward silence followed, save for the distant sounds of cars passing by them, as well as the ones speeding along the overpass. At least until one lone individual was heard walking down the street. Vic and Morrie thought it might be the woman coming home, but saw it was only Phil walking with a pig following alongside him. The pig, Abner, was Arnold's pet, but ever since his disappearance...

"Ey, if it isn't Oskar's poker buddies!" Phil exclaimed.

"Oh yeah, you're the old guy from the boarding house," Vic said, "What's with the pig?"

"Oh, he's just Short Man's pet," Phil replied, "Gertie and I have been taking care of him ever since Arnold left."

"He left?" asked Morrie, "Where'd he go?"

"No one knows," Phil replied, "Sure do miss him, though. I know he's okay, though, he writes letters every now and then. I just wish I knew where he was. And why he left..."

The creaking of a door opened behind them, but it was the voice of the woman behind it that startled the men.

"Is there a reason you're all on my..."

The brunette who opened the door had rebuttoned her purple jacket, as if it were somehow chilly outside during a Pacific summer, and looked down at the two men standing idly on her doorstep. Then she saw the older man they had been talking to.

"Well, well, Phil Shortman," the woman said, "Fancy meeting you here."

"And a nice day to you too, Lana," Phil said with a smile, "How's life treating you?"

"Much better, Phil," Lana Veil replied, "Though not because I moved out of your comfortable abode. Better work came my way as far as what law school can do for you."

"Well congratulations," Phil said, "Glad to see..."

Abner began running off once he saw the Jolly Olly Man driving his ice cream truck down the street. Nothing could get his mind off the truck at that point, forcing Phil to follow behind.

"Well, gotta catch that pig!" Phil shouted, "Be seeing you!"

Lana waved goodbye at Phil before turning to the two men still standing on her stoop.

"You're still here?" she asked.

"Do you live here?" asked Vic.

"What's it to you boys?" asked Lana.

"We have a package for the woman who lives here," replied Morrie.

They pulled out the box (cautiously, of course, Kroger would have their heads if any of its contents were shattered) and handed it to Lana, who took it and checked the address stamped on it. Sure enough, it was her home address. She carefully opened the top to check its contents. After making sure the blood samples were inside, she closed it and smiled knowingly at the the two thugs.

"Guess Kroger wants what's his," Lana said, "Wait here."

Lana put the box down on the counter by the door, which was also where she kept a large envelope marked with the stamp of the law firm she represented. Her way of ensuring the contents of the envelope were legitimate and could not be disputed.

"That belongs to him," Lana said, handing them the envelope, "Do not open it, and do not lose it. Take it to him immediately, and do not speak of it to anyone else. Understand?"

The two men simply nodded and went on their way. Lana closed the door behind her, eyeing the box she had just received. Contradicting the stern, serious woman she presented herself as to Vic and Morrie, Lana squealed like a little girl who just got the newest and hottest doll on the market. Though to her, the blood samples may as well have been just that.

"Finally!" Lana said, "I have them! I have them all!"

Lana slightly calmed down when she heard footsteps upstairs, followed by the same steps echoing on the staircase by her.

"Now we can begin..."

* * *

Rhonda and Ashley rounded the corner where the other kids had been standing. Gerald called out to them after finding a clue. Rhonda and Ashley looked up at the pile of crates stacked up along the wall. They were practically empty except for one that contained empty beer bottles. They had to have been pretty recent, because the smell of alcohol was still fresh.

"That's what you called us for?" Rhonda asked, "More garbage? If I wanted the smell of beer all over me, I'd go to a gas station."

"Or my granpappy's cellar," Stinky said, "On account of it being stacked to the top with that stuff!"

"The beers are not important," Gerald said.

"Then explain how empty boxes are going to help us find your friend?" asked Ashley.

"The boxes aren't important, either," Gerald said, "Well, actually, kinda, they have a logo."

"MacGuffin Warehouse," Ashley read aloud, "What of it?"

"One of them had _this_ ," Gerald said, pointing to one in the back.

Rhonda and Ashley looked knowingly at each other once they saw what Gerald was referring to. Underneath the logo, all over the box...

"Sun goes down, stay above ground," Ashley said.

"The compass we talked about," Rhonda said.

"What compass?" asked Helga.

"I did a little research while the rest of you were running around," Rhonda replied, "It's a historic phrase used by criminal networks as, appropriately enough, a compass."

"What's a compass got to do with anything?" Sid asked.

"What she's saying is that the phrase itself means nothing," Ashley replied, "Only _where_ we see it. Gerald first found it after getting a clue from Jizzy Shoelaces..."

"Fuzzy Slippers," Gerald corrected.

"Hey, if he can't be bothered to use his real name, I can't be bothered to remember it right," Ashley said.

"She has a point, you know," Rhonda replied.

"That led you to the theater where I _thought_ I saw Arnold," Ashley replied, "We found it again on an ad for the subway, which led us here. Now we found it on a box that was shipped from MacGuffin's warehouse. I bet if we were to go there, we'll find something there with this same logo."

"So some clown is taking us on a scavenger hunt?" asked Helga, "Does this even have anything to do with finding Arnold-o?"

"I'm, uh, actually starting to wonder that myself," Curly said, "It's like someone's playing a game with us!"

"That big dummy!" Harold said, "What do they think we are...big... _dummies_?"

"But Fuzzy Slippers is the one who gave me the first clue," Gerald said, "If there's an end point to this, why wouldn't he just put it there directly rather than send us all over the city?"

"Maybe it's not Fuzzy Slippers who's leading us on," Ashley said, "Guys, I'm... _familiar_ with these kind of mind games. This kind of thing usually ends in a trap. We may be walking right into..."

"Still doesn't answer what it has to do with Football-head," Helga scoffed.

"Would you take me seriously for _one_ minute?" Ashley scoffed, "Or I'm sorry, is that one brow blinding you from what's going on?"

"Do NOT even go there," Helga growled, walking angrily towards Ashley.

"No fighting!" Rhonda said, holding Ashley back while Gerald restrained Helga.

"What I was _trying_ to say, before I was so rudely interrupted," Ashley said, throwing shade at Helga, "was that someone wants us somewhere. I could be wrong, but...one possibility is that rather than guiding us to Arnold, it may be _Arnold_ guiding us to something else."

"You think my main man would send us all over Hillwood for something like that?" asked Gerald.

"Either that," Ashley replied, "Or someone who knows what happened to him. And if it's the latter, it may very well be a trap."

All the other kids looked at each other, clearly worried. On one hand, they thought following the clues would help them find Arnold. On the other, Ashley wasn't stupid. She may not know have known Arnold, but she seemed like she knew her way around the street. Was it really a trap they were falling right into? Would they even find Arnold at the end?

"Okay," Gerald said, "I for one am gonna go there anyway."

The others nodded in agreement, including Lila, standing way behind the others.

"But let me ask you something, Ashley," Gerald said, "Let's say you're right, that this really is a trap we're walking into. That someone else is playing us for fools and that this has nothing to do with Arnold. What exactly would be up against?"

Ashley looked away from them, not sure why she couldn't answer the question directly, much less look at anyone in the eye. All she thought of was 'Stevie'. She had the same fearful vibe about this little scavenger hunt that she did when he...

"I have no idea," Ashley replied softly, "And that's...that's scary."


	9. Going South

"Do you think we'll get answers out of him?" asked Buckley.

The two men were standing on the stoop of the Sawyer residence, which they noticed had received a paint job since their last visit. Green and yellow, true to their country origins. It stood right in between two other town homes like the rest of the block.

"We'll have to," Bob replied, "If Beau's been roped into this too, we'll all need to work together to get to the bottom of whatever's going on."

"Then here's to hoping he's on our side," Buckley said as he rang the doorbell.

It took a minute for the door to be opened, and as expected, a pudgy man with a moustache greeted them. Beau Sawyer, Lila's father, gave the men a warm smile.

"Bob! Buckley! It's been ages!" Beau exclaimed.

"Eh, good seing you too, Beau," Bob grunted.

Bob didn't dislike Beau. He just wasn't very good with people in general, and Beau was no exception.

"Beau, we'd hate to intrude," Buckley said, "But there's something...rather serious we need to talk to you about."

"Oh, of course!" Beau exclaimed, creaking his door all the way open, "Please come in! Make yourselves comfortable! I'll help you to the best of my ability!"

* * *

Olga had been on her way to the grocery store for her family, having finished a proper list. She made sure to write more than just booze, red meat and snacks, which was usually her father's entire list. Olga added fruits and vegetables and other proteins to the list as well. Along the way, she leaned into the right lane, and before making the turn, saw a familiar face strolling down the sidewalk, staring face down as if he did not want to be seen. Olga rolled down her passenger window to call out Haggard.

"Haggard!" Olga exclaimed cheerfully.

Haggard looked up from the sidewalk and warmly smiled upon seeing Olga.

"Olga," he said, "What a nice surprise. What's been happening?"

"Just running a few errands," Olga replied, "How about yourself?"

"Long story, I'm sure you have much better things to do with your valuable time," Haggard replied.

Seeing no one in the lane behind her, and that traffic was slow nonetheless, Olga leaned towards the open window, though not without keeping her hand on the wheel.

"Try me," she said.

Haggard was not expecting her to actually be interested. He wasn't even supposed to be disclosing anything to anyone other thsn Ashley. But Olga seemed nice enough, and she did become quite the new friend. He walked up to her window, resting his palms on the door.

"I was on my way to Hillwood Corrections Facility," Haggard replied, "I was supposed to visit someone there. Trouble is, their particular circumstance limits their privileges, including visiting hours."

"Let me guess," Olga inquired, "You were hoping to bend the rules a little bit."

"That," Haggard replied, "...aaaand I have no idea where it is."

Olga covered her mouth with her fingers as she laughed, though it didn't hide the edge of her smile. With that same smile, she popped open the passenger door.

"Hop in," she said, "I'll drop you off."

* * *

"Can I get you guys anything?" Beau asked, "Water? Crackers?"

"No thanks," Buckley said, "This shouldn't take long."

Buckley Lloyd and Bob Pataki sat side by side on the longer couch, while Beau Sawyer sat in the loveseat across from them, crossing his legs as he got comfortable.

"So what can I do for you both?" asked Beau.

"We have a certain...problem we're dealing with," Bob replied gruffly, "And we need some answers from you."

Beau stroked his moustache in confusion, unsure of what they were implying.

"I'm, uh, not sure what you mean," replied Beau.

"About Gemini Labs?" Bob asked.

A cold sweat broke out across Beau's face. Clearly he heard the name before.

"I've heard of them," Beau answered, "But there's not much I know about them."

"Beau," Buckley said leaning forward, "We saw your name in their archives. It seemed important to them too, because it was highlighted."

"But I never asked for anything from them!" Beau exclaimed.

"We figured as much," Bob said, "Which leaves the conclusion that you worked for them."

"I would never!" Beau exclaimed.

Beau looked as if he would pop a vein, and his whole body was trembling. It took more than a few moments for Beau to calm himself down. When he looked back up at Bob and Buckley, they knew there was no more lies. No turning back from this point forward.

"It was my wife," Beau replied, " _She_ worked for them."

* * *

"So who were you planning to visit?" asked Olga.

"...someone from our history," Haggard lied, "Me and Ashley, I mean. I don't want to go into the tragic details of what happened..."

"Is her mother...alive?" asked Olga, "Sorry, it just worried me that you've been raising her yourself."

"Unfortunately, she's not," Haggard replied, "She died a few years ago."

Haggard wasn't technically lying about that. Her mother was obviously out of the picture, and she wasn't the only child in the city without a mom.

"Is the person you're going to see...did he kill her?" Olga asked.

"No, he didn't," Haggard replied, "But he may be able to bring us some...closure."

That wasn't technically a lie. Scheck obviously wasn't the end of their search. But since he worked with one Coco LaBouche on designing the vessels for Gemini Labs, he could provide a pivotal clue as to how they can be stopped. Or better yet, where they currently are hidden. Haggard looked out the window as Olga turned into a small street in between two brick buildings. Neither individual knew who was waiting in the alleys.

"I'm sorry," Olga said, "I don't mean to be so nosy. I just worry whenever I see broken families. I just wanted to help..."

"Don't be sorry, Olga," Haggard said, turning to her and smiling warmly, "I have no reason to distrust you. In the short time that we've been here, you've been very kind to me. To us. I'm glad I got to meet you."

Olga blushed when he complimented her. It slightly distracted her from looking ahead. But even if she was, she would not have noticed the green, circular object that rolled under the vehicle. Or the fact that the pin was pulled.

"Hey," Olga said, "Once you sort this all out, maybe you and I..."

The car flew into the air once the grenade exploded. If shown in slow motion, one could see the sparks flying from the car sliding across the walls. It landed on the passenger side, badly damaged and with dents on the trunk as well. The shadowy individuals came out of hiding to fetch the two of them...

* * *

"My wife graduated with a Masters in Animal Sciences," Beau explained, "We had just been settling into the farm when she was approached about a job offer at Gemini Labs."

"Strange sort to be getting it from," Buckley said, "I thought they were mainly involved in human interests."

"So did we," Beau said, "But apparently human interests included fighting world hunger, and since they were in the business of cloning and we were raising several edible creatures...well, you get the picture. She provided them with DNA and blood samples, they cloned the animals for whoever was paying for their services."

"How does that fit into now?" Bob asked.

"The farm itself wasn't all they wanted," Beau replied, "There was another project in the works. Something big. But Kaspar Corr had very little involvement with that. It was his partner..."

"He had a partner?" Buckley asked.

"Yes," Beau replied, "The two partnered up shortly after the labs were first established. His partner had focused on his own project while Corr further perfected genetic cloning."

"So this business partner of his," Buckley further surmised, "It sounds like he's the one taking charge of their operations now."

"Something ain't right about this," Bob said, "Buckley here said they had Spade collect his kid's blood samples as part of a deal they made. But it sounds like Corr was the only one involved in that part. What's this new guy have invested to keep doing that? If it didn't have anything to do with whatever he was working on...what _was_ he working on, anyway?"

"I don't know," Beau replied, "And frankly, I'm not sure I want to know. After working for them long enough, my wife started investigating on her own. She must have found out what it was, because next thing I know...they got her."

"The...the fire...that was them?" Buckley asked, "You're sure of it?"

"I saw him with my own eyes," replied Beau, getting angrier as he spoke, "I never told Lila, but I saw him standing right in front of the barn as it burned to the ground! I know he lured her in there somehow and then murdered her!"

Beau took a moment to calm down, feeling Buckley tap his hand with his own, trying his best to comfort his friend. Bob, for once, was entirely speechless.

"My God, I..." Bob said, trying to compose himself, "I dunno what to say."

"Then don't say anything."

All three men jumped as they saw Spade, who somehow got himself and two burly goons inside without making a sound, standing under the awning.

"Spade?" asked a shocked Buckley, "How much did you hear?"

"Enough to know you're getting too close to be left alone," Spade replied, "And no, before you ask, I don't know what Kroger's secret project is, so don't try getting that out of me, you'll just waste your time and mine."

"Kroger?" Bob asked.

"Drat, that _was_ his name!" Beau exclaimed, "Vaas Kroger! He was the one Corr partnered with!"

"He's also rather agitated that the two of _you_ have been snooping around his business," Spade replied, "He wants me to put a stop to that."

"Look, Spade, we don't want trouble," Buckley said, trying to reason with the infamous criminal, "We just wanted to repay our debts and go our separste ways."

"We're past the point of that, Buckley," Spade replied back, "Besides, we both know you're doing this to stop the boss's plans."

"We don't even know what his plans are!" Buckley exclaimed, "We didn't know his name until you arrived! We've never even met him!"

"Well there's time to change that, then," Spade answered, "He wants to meet with you blokes personally. He's waiting for us at..."

* * *

"MacGuffin Warehouse," Gerald said, reading aloud the decaying sign, "This is the place all right."

The kids stood in front of the sign, standing on a large dirt pathway that led to the eponymous warehouse. It was a large structure by the harbor, but was clearly unused for some time. The bricks were cracked and the windows were shattered. Anybody could use this for any form of sinister purpose. And to add poetic irony, the sun was going down.

"Please let this lead to something useful," Helga said, "No more bizarre clues."

"Finally, something we agree on," Ashley said.

"I, uh, I dunno if we should go in there," Sid said, "Looks kinda shady."

"Sure does, Sid," Stinky concurred, "I ain't a-scared or nuthin', it just ain't safe."

"M-Maybe we should just wait until tomorrow when it's...not dark," Harold said.

"Well then the three of you can wait outside while those of us with cojones go and search inside," Gerald said.

"Hey!" Harold screamed, "I have cojones!"

"Yeah!" Stinky exclaimed, "What's a cojones?"

"I don't even know," Harold replied.

"Hold up," Ashley said, "That may not be a bad idea. They'll make good lookouts for anything suspicious, and if this all goes south, they can get help!"

"Hey yeah!" Sid exclaimed, "We can totally do that!"

"Well then get to it," Gerald said, "The rest of us are going inside."

As the three compadres stood outside by the gate, everyone else walked towards the door. Ashley stood in between Gerald and Rhonda while watching Helga strut forward ahead of everyone else.

"You really think they'll help by being lookouts?"

"Oh hell no," Ashley said, "I just need the Three Stooges out of the way for a while."

"Sneaky, sneaky," Gerald commented.

"Well it's not like they would help by being afraid of their own shadows," Rhonda said, "So they get a job they can do, we go searching in the meanwhile. It's a perfect plan."

Ashley just looked forward as they opened the door to the MacGuffin warehouse.

 _Unless something is waiting for us inside..._


	10. MacGuffin

It was like a tomb inside the MacGuffin Warehouse. There was hardly any noise, save for that of the children's footsteps and birds cawing, which was only heard because of the small holes in the windows. Nothing else. The floor was covered in broken glass and old machines that no longer worked. The entire interior of the warehouse glowed red due to the setting sun. It may have looked scary, but the kids knew they would have to take advantage of that while they could. There was no telling if they could see anything at all once the sun really did go down.

"This...looks rather shady for Arnold," Gerald said.

"For Arnold?" asked Rhonda, "Why would _anybody_ hide here?"

"If there was something here no one wanted to be found," Ashley replied, "Something of value."

"Alright, alright, we get it," Helga interjected, "It's creepy and someone or something doesn't want to be found, but what's the game plan?"

"At this point," Gerald said, "It would be to split into groups."

"Well when you put it that way," Helga said sarcastically, "How could it possibly go wrong?"

"Do you have to do that all the time?" Gerald asked, "Unless you have a better idea..."

"Fine, we'll split up," Helga said, "But I'm not saving your butt if you cry wolf."

"We're the only ones here, Helga," Gerald said, "We'll be fine."

"Are we sure we are?" Curly asked, "It's a big building. Anyone could be here..."

A bit of uneasiness flowed over the children. They suddenly began reconsidering their plan. At least until Ashley spoke up.

"Fine," Ashley said, "If it makes you boys feel better, Lila and I will go with you."

"Me?" asked Lila.

"Even the groups," Ashley replied, "You and me with Gerald and Curly, and Helga, Rhonda, Phoebe and Nadine in the other."

"Hmmm...fair enough," Gerald said, "Two tough gals leading each group seems like a smart move in hindsight."

"Then let's quit wasting time and let's go!" Helga exclaimed.

Both groups took two separate paths, unsure what to expect...

* * *

"And you're sure of it?" asked Lana over the phone, "They're on their way?"

"I'm sure," replied Vic, who was on the other line, "Morrie and I had a few pulled out just for you. The rest are on their way to a designated holding spot."

"Oooh, care to tell me more about it?" Lana asked, leaning on the counter.

"Kroger thought you might ask that," Vic replied, "Which is why he told _me_ to tell _you_ that that wasn't part of the deal. Sorry lady, but that secret stays with him."

"Worth a shot," she said, "When can I expect them?"

"Tomorrow night at the latest," Vic replied, "Earlier if you're lucky."

"Fingers crossed," Lana said before hanging up.

Lana smiled to herself as she pulled out a wine glass. She was in the mood to celebrate.

* * *

Helga's group found a lot of nothing in their search. Lots of debris, even more broken glass, a few signs of damaged equipment. But no leads and no more clues.

"Well it looks like this was a waste of time," Helga said.

"This can't be the end," Rhonda said, "Not after all our progress!"

"What progress?" asked Helga, "Everything we've done so far has just been one dead end to another! We're getting nowhere letting Ashley lead the search!"

"That's not necessarily true, Helga," Phoebe said, "Just the possibility of her seeing Arnold when she first arrived led us in a pretty decent direction. We at least have an idea of where he's been."

"Do we?" asked Helga, "You really think he'd willingly go to a place like _this_?"

"Well," Nadine started, "Ashley did say there was a chance..."

"Jeez, Ashley this, Ashley that, do any of your dinguses shut up about her?" Helga whined.

"Alright, what's your problem with her?" asked Rhonda.

"My _problem_ is that she's full of it," Helga replied, "Just one word about seeing _someone_ with a football head and suddenly we're supposed to trust her?"

"She hasn't given us reason not to," Phoebe said.

"Really?" Helga asked back, "Nothing about her gives you bad vibes?"

"Why should she?" asked Rhonda, "She seems to know a lot about tracking people..."

"And you never thought to ask _how_ she know that?" asked Helga.

"Why...well, I, uh..." Rhonda started to stammer.

"None of you thought to ask anything?" asked Helga, "We really don't know anything about her! We don't know where she's really from, or what she's like!"

"We do know she lives with her dad," Phoebe said.

"Yeah, that's it," Helga said, "I'm pretty sure none of us have ever met the guy though...how do we know what _he's_ like?"

"Oh, come on, Helga," Rhonda said, "That's rather far-fetched. Besides, I'm sure once we find Arnold and this is all over, we'll get a chance to meet the man properly..."

* * *

Haggard could barely see a thing. He could barely remember anything, either. All he remembered at the moment was a loud bang. All he could see what blackness, with a short but sturdy and broad individual standing over him. Haggard couldn't see his entire form, but somehow, whether by instinct or by educated guess, he knew who it was.

"You...?"

* * *

"So do you really think they'll find anything in there?" asked Sid, not looking back at his friends, just staring out into the open space by the road.

"I hope so, Sid," Stinky replied, "On account'a us being closer to finding Arnold than ever before!"

"We have cojones, right?" Harold asked.

"Huh?" asked Stinky, "Of course we do...at least I think we do. Whatever they are."

"We're manly men, right?" Harold asked, "We gotta be! Why else would Ashley trust us with guarding the fort?"

"Hey yeah!" Stinky exclaimed, "We gotta be pretty darn special to be given such a task! That oughta make us the manliest men there were!"

Sid's girlish scream that subsequently followed didn't help their case.

"Quit it, Sid!" Harold exclaimed.

"But they're here!" Sid exclaimed.

"Who's here?" Stinky asked.

"Spade and his thugs!"

"What?" they both asked.

All three were now crouched behind the row of crates, watching the black Sedan pull up. Sure enough, Spade and a couple of his goons had gotten out of the car. And they brought "guests". Buckley was the first to be dragged out, followed by Beau and Big Bob.

"Isn't that Rhonda's dad?" Sid asked.

"Yeah, and that's Miss Lila's pop too!" Stinky replied.

"And Big Bob? They got Big Bob?!" Harold exclaimed.

Oh man, this is bad!" Sid said, gasping for breath.

"We gotta go tell the others!" Stinky exclaimed.

"Forget that!" Harold replied, "We gotta go get the cops!"

Before any of them could get up, an ominous shadow loomed over them, followed by the feeling of a gun barrel being pressed into the back of Sid's head. The man behind them spoke with a light German accent.

"I don't think you'll be doing that," Kroger said from behind, "Why not join the party, instead?"

* * *

Ashley and Lila led Gerald and Curly through a dark hallway, filled with a lot of blank walls and old machinery. Gerald and Curly discussed conspiracy theories among themselves as the girls walked onward.

"But what if monkeys really could fly?" Curly asked.

"I'd have a lot of questions for the guy who could make that happen," Gerald replied.

"No, I mean naturally fly on their own!" Curly exclaimed, "Sheesh, someone's never seen the Wizard of Oz!"

"Oh I've seen it," Gerald replied, "I just don't use fictional characters as intellectual speculation."

Ashley mentally groaned at the boys' endless droning. Who gave a shit if monkeys could fly?

"I wanted to ask you something, Ashley," Lila said, "I know you don't know Arnold the way we do, but that also means you can stay objective, so I have to know...do you really think Arnold could be here?"

"It's possible he _was_ here," Lila replied, "But I doubt he is now. There's not a single soul anywhere else in this warehouse, and from what I can see, no more clues."

Lila looked to the side dejectedly. Ashley wasn't very good at comforting people, so her words came out a little awkward.

"We'll, uh...we'll find him, Lila," Ashley said, "We just gotta keep looking."

"I hope so, Ashley," Lila said, "I really hope so."

They both heard a door slam, followed by the sound of bickering. Easily the sound of other children.

"Sounds like we're just about caught up with the other half of our group," Gerald said.

"I could swear their voices sound a little older, though," Ashley said.

"In any case," Lila said, "I'm ever so certain they may have found something we didn't."

"I sure hope so," Gerald replied.

They reached the end of the hallway into a much larger storage space, spotting the rest of their group coming from a nearby door. From the looks of their faces, they didn't find anything else useful.

"Nothing?" asked Gerald.

"Nothing," Helga replied, looking bitterly at Ashley, "I hate to say it, but this may be a dead end."

"It can't be!" Lila exclaimed, "There has to be something else."

"That's what I was hoping for, too, Lila," Rhonda said, "But unless you guys found something else, we're coming up short."

Their conversation was going through deaf ears for Ashley. She walked into the middle of the much larger storage space as if in a trance. Though much of the area was covered in a deep saturation of scarlet red, what little natural light still shined through the broken windows revealed that unlike the walls or the rest of the MacGuffin Warehouse, the floors had no trace of dust. But there were certainly traces of footprints. Several identical footprints imprinted into the floor. Over 459 of them to be exact.

The exact number of missing vessels Ashley and Haggard were there to find.

"They...they were here..." Ashley said, "They were all here!"

"Huh?" Helga asked, "What are you yacking about!"

"They were here! In this warehouse!" Ashley exclaimed, talking to no one, "How did they get them out! Where...where are they now?"

Another door slammed from the balcony above. Ashley looked upwards seeing even more shadows coming from the corridor.

"I knew I heard other voices," she said.

The other kids gasped as they saw their three of their dads being pushed in by Spade and his thugs.

"Daddy?" Rhonda asked in horror.

"What the..." Helga said, shocked that someone got the jump on Big Bob.

"No..." Lila sighed.

"Spade again," Gerald growled.

"Guess we're not alone after all," Spade said, his Yorkshire accent echoing throughout the room, "Your kids and their friends seem to have a natural curiosity."

The three dads looked absolutely scared that their daughters were here with them in the face of danger. Their fears, however, were about to get worse as from nearby, on the same balcony, Harold, Sid, and Stinky were being directed forward, looking down at their confused friends. And then, last but not least, Vaas Kroger stepped in from behind, gun pointed at the three boys.

The children looking up at them, save for Rhonda, recognized the man from Elk Island. Ashley wasn't there either, but she definitely knew who that was. She would never forget him, even if she tried. He had caused too much harm to be casually erased from memory. Her blood ran cold and her fists were already clenched. Her eyes stared angrily at him as an evil grin marked his face, his cold eyes, completely lacking in empathy, stared her down.

"You..." she said.

"Ashley Cliffe..."


	11. More Questions Than Answers

_There was definitely fire, she was sure of that much. If the blistering heat beating on her face wasn't enough of a hint, the roaring flames surrounding her definitely was. She never saw her parents that moment. But she already feared the worst. Her mind felt hazy and her body refused to move as the smoke made its way into her lungs. Had a much larger mountain man not grabbed her and took her to safety, she may have died that night with her parents. She didn't see the men who came charging in. She didn't know if they were the good guys or the bad guys._

 _But she never forgot the man standing by the staircase as she was dragged out. The emotionless face of a man who wanted something so badly, he went to extreme lengths to get it..._

* * *

...and here he was, on a balcony with hostages, staring down at Ashley, the girl who should have died the same night as her parents. No one else in the room mattered to either of them, just each other.

"You!" Ashley growled, "You're him!"

"So flattered you remember my face after all these years," Kroger said, "You never heeded my warning, did you?"

"After what you did to my _parents_ , did you really think I would?" Ashley asked.

"A little spare time is better than none at all," Kroger replied, "You should have used it more wisely, child. Lived a quiet life instead of chasing us down."

"You know this guy?" Gerald asked her.

"He...he's the one who..." Ashley started to say.

Her fists trembled, unable to even finish her sentence.

"Well, as pleasant as this reunion is," Kroger said, "I do have better things to do. To start with..."

Kroger turned to Spade and his henchmen, who were currently holding Buckley, Beau, and Big Bob down.

"I understand you three gentlemen have been snooping around my business," Kroger said, "I'd be more inclined to entertain your follies if I had the time to do so, but alas I do not, so this charade has to end."

"So it _is_ you," Big Bob said, " _You're_ the one behind all this. The samples, the cover-ups..."

"Merely a few left-over chores my colleagues at Gemini tasked me with," Kroger said, "No, my real business is just beginning."

"You mean...you don't even care about the DNA samples we owed you?" Buckley said.

"You had me go through all that trouble for nothing?" Spade asked him.

"That was simply a price to pay for what I really want," Kroger said.

"And what exactly do..." Buckley started to say.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, not so fast, bucko!" Helga yelled, "You don't get off that easy!"

"Shut _up_ , Helga..." Rhonda whispered to her.

"No, Rhonda, I won't," Helga said, "Our dads are up there with guns to their heads, and I don't think they're _just_ inconveniences to this bozo. I wanna know why they're involved!"

"You...really don't know, do you?" Kroger asked, donning a wide condescending grin, "The deals your families made with us?"

"Oh god," Ashley said, "They didn't..."

"What are they talking about?" Phoebe wondered.

Kroger looked over to the three dads at his mercy, motioning them to their children.

"You're the ones who got yourselves into this mess," Kroger told them, "I think the young ones deserve to know what lengths you'll go through for them, no?"

Big Bob grimaced, looking down at his youngest daughter, before sucking up his pride and answering.

"After the Scheck fiasco," he said, "Big Bob's Beepers was in shambles. We would have gone out of business were it not for Gemini. They gave us a loan, but threatened you, your sister, and your mother if I didn't make good on my word."

"THAT'S why you turned to them?" Ashley roared, "To save some lousy beeper store?"

"That store keeps my girls _fed_ , little lady," Bob replied back.

"Wait a minute," Gerald said, coming to a grim realization, "If that's what they can do...Mr. Lloyd...does this have to do with when your family was broke?"

"Don't be ridiculous, Gerald!" Rhonda replied, "Daddy would _never_ beg anyone for anything!"

Buckley simply hung his head in shame, unprepared to tell his only daughter the truth.

"Rhonda," Buckley said, "I'm afraid he's...he's right. We were desperate."

"You took a loan from these people?" Rhonda asked him.

"N-No," Buckley said, "I...paid a far greater price, and I cannot apologize enough for putting you through it. That surprise examination Dr. Graf gave you...it wasn't for a routine checkup. It was to give your DNA to Gemini."

"And believe me, she is far from the only one who we have samples for," Kroger replied.

"W-What?" asked Rhonda, shocked by this revelation, "Daddy, you..."

"Is that why Graf was with you?" Helga cried, "Is that why you KILLED him?"

Rhonda and Buckley both looked up at Kroger with wide eyes begging for an escape from an even more unpleasant reality.

"Dr. Graf...is dead?" Rhonda asked.

"You...you killed him?" Buckley asked in sadness.

"You can thank Spade for that," Kroger replied.

"Hey! I was just following orders, don't pin this all on me, mate!" Spade exclaimed.

"Funny," Kroger said, "You were singing a very different tune when you failed to deal with the Sawyer woman."

"Goddamn you, Kroger!" Beau screamed.

A cold chill went down Lila's spine. Ashley felt it too. Ashley put it together much faster, but Lila was still in the 'denial' stage.

"W-What?" Lila asked, "Sawyer woman? You mean...my...my mom?"

Kroger looked down on the freckled farm girl, fascinated by the development.

"So it _is_ you," Kroger said, "You're the child Spade told me about. The reason he _chickened_ out."

Spade glared angrily at Kroger, remembering the last time Kroger brought up the subject.

 _"And this time, I will accompany you, so as to make sure you don't screw up like the last time," Kroger told him._

 _"My last job was on a rival gang member," Spade replied, "That shit's dead and buried."_

 _"We both know which job I'm talking about."_

Spade knew that would come back to bite him in the ass.

"If you must know, little girl," Kroger told Lila, "I originally hired Spade to do the dirty work of bumping off your mother for trying to back out of my pet project. To come clean to the rest of the world and my colleagues about my plans."

"You..." Lila said.

"But the minute he walked in your home to kill her...he saw you, just a little girl, tucked away in her little bed, unaware of what he was there to do," Kroger said, "You may not remember too well, but you woke up and saw him...and he just couldn't man up to what he would do by depriving a child of her mother. So he bailed."

Spade looked down at Lila, now recognizing her as the girl he saw that night years prior.

"And you know what they say," Kroger continued, "If you want something done right...you have to do it yourself. And I've been told I have quite the affinity for _fire_."

"The barn fire," Lila said with chilling realization, "That was...that was you?"

"I lured her there to talk about my project," Kroger said, "I knew she wanted out, but until we met that night, she never admitted it to me. She threatened to tell the world what I was building, along with how far I went behind Gemini's backs to get it done. Of course, I couldn't let her just talk, so I knocked her out and left her there as I burned that miserable barn to the ground...and her along with it."

"YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Ashley screamed.

Another door opened, the same one Spade and his men had come through.

"Oh great, more of them?" asked Helga.

This time, these faces were much more familiar. Vic and Morrie had made their way to the MacGuffin Warehouse, Vic with the envelope he was given.

"The client got the samples," Vic said, "And she's given you what's yours."

Kroger took the envelope from Vic's hands and sliced the top open. He pulled out what appeared to be thick paper, unfolding it and looking at whatever was on it. He smiled even wider upon receiving it.

"Yes," Kroger said, "This is exactly what I came here for. Now reconstruction efforts can finally begin."

"On what?" Buckley asked.

"That's for me to know and me only," Kroger said, "But not to worry. Once it's complete, everyone in this city will know the meaning of fear. Haggard knew quite well what I wanted, but once I learned he traveled with _you_..."

Kroger deliberately pointed at Ashley.

"...well, I sent some... _specialists_ to deal with him."

"GODDAMN YOU, KROGER!" Ashley screamed, on the verge of tears.

A vibrating sound came from Kroger's pocket, obviously a phone. Kroger pulled it out and saw a familiar number.

"Ah, that would be them now," Kroger bragged.

Kroger casually answered the phone as if he were alone, willfully ignorant of the grief surrounding him.

"Yes, it's me," Kroger said, "How did it go?...What does _that_ mean?...I JUST told these brats he was dead! How did he escape?"

Ashley's eyes perked up when she heard his end of the conversation.

"What do you mean 'he'? Who's 'he'?" Kroger asked, "But...that's...he's practically a CHILD! How did HE get the jump on you?...Well dammit, where is he now?...You LOST him?"

Kroger's call was cut short when the phone was shot out of his hands. He looked around in shock, calculating where it came from. Another shot went through Spade's shoulder, sending him kneeling on the platform. Kroger angrily shouted at Spade's lackeys.

"Get these interlopers out of here!" Kroger ordered.

They took the three dads and dragged them back out the door they came through as Kroger fled with Spade through the other door while Vic and Morrie fired aimlessly in the general direction. The mystery visitor kept firing back from his cover spot (the balcony outside the window) as the other kids, now knowing this was out of their hands, ran out the back as the shooting broke out. Ashley, however, looked up where Kroger had previously fled.

"Get back here!" Ashley shouted.

"Ashley, wait!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"No!" Ashley replied back, "Kroger's getting away!"

"He _got_ away," Phoebe replied, "He's gone. But the way he talked, I don't think he plans on leaving Hillwood anytime soon. We'll find him, Ashley."

Wasting no more time, Phoebe grabbed Ashley's wrist and ran out with her, following behind the other kids.

"Hey!" Harold shouted, "Wait for us!"

Harold, Stinky, and Sid had made their escape once Kroger and Spade fled. Luckily for them, Kroger saw no use for them, unlike the three dads. It was the fastest those three had ever run in their lives.

* * *

Kroger made his way to the big black car waiting behind the warehouse, while Spade's lackeys had already made off with the three dads in a separate vehicle. Spade himself had been falling behind due to his injury, leaving blood drops as he ran inside the car.

"You're staining the leather," Kroger said nonchalantly.

"Are you fucking serious?" Spade cried, "I got a bullet in my shoulder! And I'm bleeding down my whole arm! "

"Suck it up," Kroger said, "We have plenty of resources to fix that back at the lab. It's where we were supposed to go anyway, so stop worrying."

The car's driver tossed a washcloth behind him, allowing Spade to cover his wound with it, holding onto it to stop the bleeding. Kroger pulled the contents of the envelope back out from his coat pocket and browsed over them.

"I never thought I'd see that girl there," Spade said.

"I was already told Ashley was here, so I was less surprised and more entertained," Kroger said.

"What? No, I'm talking about the farm girl!" Spade exclaimed.

"Ah, the Sawyer child," Kroger said, "Small world, eh? But don't waste too much energy thinking about her. She's a pushover compared to Ashley. Especially now that the so-called 'specialists' failed to take Haggard out."

Spade peeked out from the corner of his eye to what he now saw was a blueprint. He didn't know what it was for, only that there were a lot of numbers and equations that went over his head.

"So this is what you've gone through all this trouble for?" Spade asked.

"Yes," Kroger replied, "And once we get to the lab, we immediately begin production. No one in this city will be safe..."

* * *

The kids had run off the MacGuffin Warehouse grounds far away from where the shootings had taken place. The firing had stopped shortly after, meaning one or both parties had fled. Or died.

"What...the hell...was that?" Helga asked.

"Why did WE have to guard the outside?" Stinky said.

"You volunteered!" Rhonda exclaimed.

"No we didn't!" Harold, Sid, and Stinky exclaimed.

"I knew this would end badly!" Helga said, "Whatever that was had absolutely NOTHING to do with where Arnold is!"

"You've got bigger problems than finding your missing friend right now, Helga," Ashley said.

"She's right, Helga," Rhonda said, "That creep has our dads!"

"And that's just the tip of the iceberg," Ashley said.

"Sounds to me like you've been keeping a lot of this to yourself!" Helga exclaimed, "Might have been nice to know something like this ahead of time!"

"And you thought I'd tell you something like this?" Ashley asked.

"Oh, you know," Helga replied, "Something nice and informative like 'Hey, there are these criminals and a psycho killer walking around town, they MIGHT try to kill us too, but no worries here!'"

"She's...got a point," Gerald said, "If you knew more about this than you said, it would have been nice to know."

"Look," Ashley said, "It's...complicated, all right?"

"That does NOT fly with me, Pinocchio!" Helga growled.

"Are you calling me a liar?" Ashley asked.

"Ashley," Phoebe interrupted before Helga started throwing her fists around, "It would behoove us to know what's really going on if we're going to be in this together. For example, who that guy was who killed Lila's mom and I _assume_ your parents? Or what it was you were _really_ looking for? You were saying something about "them" being at the warehouse before. Who's them?"

"It's not who, it's what," Ashley said.

"That...doesn't make it any more obvious," Curly said.

"I have a better idea," came a voice from behind.

All the kids turned to see the mystery shooter walking towards them. He was no older than any of them, at least not physically. He only existed for a couple years, truth be told. But the wavy black hair with red highlights and broad figure was unmistakable to Ashley.

"Let's talk about this somewhere _safer_ ," he said.

Ashley looked at her former enemy with a look of bewilderment, surprised he had come all this way.

"...Errol?"


	12. Recollection

**Quick little warning: Some of the stuff discussed by the characters during the last scene of this chapter covers events pertaining to two of my previous fanfics (The Unraveling and Another Side, Another Story). It's not necessary to read those to understand it, but it will provide context to some of what they're saying. But don't worry about remembering all the recap that goes on, because as interesting as they are, they do not pertain to this particular fanfic, it's really just more of a callback for readers who read both the other ones. You should still be able to enjoy this fanfic without having previously read the other two (though I'm not gonna stop you if you go back and read those, lol).**

* * *

The last light of the sun had been fading away, and from that light, the shadows of several children could be seen along the brick buildings as they walked. They had been a couple blocks away from MacGuffin Warehouse by now. The boy leading them, Errol Blunt, had been speed walking the entire time, so most of the other kids had to do a light jog to keep up. No one else knew who this person was except for Ashley, and despite their previous reservations about how much she had been hiding from them, they trusted her enough to follow her after this guy.

Now there were plenty of people Ashley expected to run into on her mission. She expected Haggard, of course, since he was pretending to be her father and was a fellow VIGILANCE member. She expected Gemini Labs to have some form of presence here in Hillwood, else there would be no reason to suspect the missing vessels were located there (suspicions that were recently proven correct). She even expected Dr. Vaas Kroger at some point. She feared she would run into him again, but it was only a matter of time before she did, given her life's circumstances.

But she never expected to see Errol Blunt again. And unlike their last adventure together, it was Ashley asking him all the questions.

"How did you even find us?" she asked.

"Got a tag on your pal Haggard," Errol replied, "So I followed him when he was attacked. Left one of the mercenaries alive to tell me where you were expected to be."

"Haggard...he's alive?"

"Yes, but injured," he replied, "That Olga woman he was with came out okay, though."

"Wait, OLGA was with him?" Ashley asked,

"As in Olga Pataki?" Helga chimed in.

"I dunno, didn't ask her last name," Errol replied, "Not that I could, she was already unconscious by the time my partner came to extract them."

"You didn't come alone?" Ashley asked.

"Nope," Errol replied, "Met with some CIA guy once he got here, the guy calling himself Mr. Smith."

"MR. SMITH?" all the other kids asked.

"Wait, you know him?" Errol asked

"Sort of," Gerald replied, "We tried following him around once to see what he looks like but we never did."

"Well now you know why," Errol said, "And if you kids value your safety, you'll quit while you're ahead."

"Who are you calling 'kids'?" asked Curly.

"Well you _are_ ," Errol replied.

"So are you!" Curly retorted.

"Except I'm used to dealing with these sort of people," Errol replied, "And to an extent, so is Ashley. Let _us_ handle the bad guys, you go back to looking for your friend."

"Why do you think we're sticking with you?" Rhonda asked.

Errol stopped walking for a moment, and when Ashley suddenly stopped, everyone else behind her slammed into each other.

"Maybe you didn't figure it out back at MacGuffin, but this Arnold person has nothing to do with the bigger picture," Errol replied, "He's irrelevant."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Gerald said, "I don't appreciate you talking about my best friend like that!"

"I'm sure you don't," Errol said, "But right now I don't give a crap about your..."

"Errol," Ashley said, "Like it or not, they're staying. At least until they find their missing friend."

"He may be better off missing," Errol said, "Because unless Kroger is stopped, everyone else in this city is going to _die_."

All the other kids gasped as if they were expecting anything else.

"What? _Die_?" Sid asked.

"I see you still don't fully realize how in over your heads you really are," Errol said, "Even after nearly being stuck in the middle of a gunfight. The sooner we get back to Sunset Arms, the sooner we can all get our stories straight, and _maybe_ figure out a game plan..."

* * *

A small, balding man with big bushy eyebrows, typical of the geek stereotype, was sitting at a desk in a room without windows and only white paint decorating the walls. His eyeglasses were fogged up from the steam pouring out of the beaker he was observing. He only had enough time to sloppily jot down a few notes on his notepad when the door opened. He wiped sweat off his forehead as Dr. Kroger and Spade entered. Kroger looked more gleeful than he had ever been in years. Spade, on the other hand, was in pain due to the bullet lodged in his arm.

"We finally have it, Abbot," Kroger said, triumphantly holding blueprints in his hand, "We have the blueprints!"

"Oh, uh, that's great, Dr. Kroger," Abbot replied, "But, um, why is Spade bleeding?"

"Oh, just a flesh wound he sustained during our standoff at MacGuffin," Kroger replied, "But I don't want his blood staining the walls, so have him patched up immediately."

"Yes, sir," Abbot replied, grabbing Spade.

"And tell your colleagues to bring in the resources from our reserves," Kroger said, "The time has come."

* * *

The front door to the Sunset Arms opened with a bunch of children running through, confusing the adults sitting at the table for a poker game. Oskar wasted no time trying to peek at Ernie's cards while the latter looked up at the stampede of children, which earned him a quick slap on the back of the head from Suzie. Mr. Hyunh did a double take on seeing so many children coming through. Fortunately for the kids, they didn't take much space when going up the stairs, so they managed to enter Haggard's room quickly and efficiently. Speaking of Haggard, the big guy himself had a cast on his wrist, a black eye, and multiple scratches over his body. Olga, who was sitting next to him, had a few minor scratches, but nothing overly visible that would tarnish her beauty. A third man, tall, blonde and with big glasses, was leaning against the wall nearby. He never got a chance to introduce himself, because the minute Olga saw Helga coming in with the other kids, she went right back into big sister mode.

"Oh Helga! My baby sister! Are you all right?" Olga asked, wrapping Helga in a hug.

"I-I'm fine, Olga," Helga said, still uncomfortable with Olga's doting, "What about you? Heard you were in an accident."

"Well," Olga said, "I don't remember much. Just that we went flying off the pavement. Next thing I know, we're both back here with these two."

By 'these two', Olga meant Errol and the stranger leaning against the wall.

"I never thought we'd see _you_ again," Haggard told him, "But boy, am I glad we did."

"You guys know each other?" Phoebe asked.

"We've never actually met until recently," Haggard replied, "My... _daughter_ , on the other hand, well, you've already..."

"Don't bother, Haggard," Ashley said, "They already know we're not actually related."

"...you told them?" Haggard asked.

"No," Ashley said, "I assume they figured it out once Kroger ambushed us."

"Kroger is here?" Haggard asked hesitantly.

Haggard's calm demeanor suddenly became a disturbing mix of rage and fear. The kids, especially Phoebe, started noticing Kroger's name alone carried that sort of vibe.

"Yeah," Ashley said, "He's here."

"Pardon the interruption," Phoebe said, "But it seems like there's a lot going on that we should know about."

"I thought you told them not to get involved," the stranger said, "This is way above their pay grade."

"I tried, Mr. Smith, I tried," Errol said, "But they're a persistent bunch."

"MR. SMITH?" all the other kids cried out.

"Y-You're Mr. Smith?" Gerald asked.

Mr. Smith adjusted his glasses, not moving from his spot. His lanky physique was not at all what Gerald expected to see under that over-sized trenchcoat of his.

"Yes, I remember you well," Mr. Smith replied, "Tried ousting me a while back, right?"

"Uh, n-no, we were just curious," Gerald said.

"You and Arnold caused me a lot of trouble that day," Mr. Smith said.

The kids were all silent again at the mention of their football headed friend.

"Do you..." Gerald started.

"No," Mr. Smith replied bluntly, "I have not seen him. I'll keep my eyes and ears open, but right now there are more pressing matters. Now that we know for a fact Kroger is back, we have to stop him before he finished that _monstrosity_ he is building."

"You know what it is?" Ashley asked.

"We have a pretty good idea what it is," Haggard replied, "I...have history with Kroger."

"So what's really going on, then?" Helga asked, "If all this stuff we've been thrown into doesn't have anything to do with Arnold-o, what _is_ it?"

Haggard sighed before dusting off his trousers.

"First," Haggard said, "Let's gather what we know so far..."

* * *

From the control room, Kroger watched, through the room's bullet-proof windows, several individuals bringing in crates filled with metals and machinery. Kroger had the blueprints laid out in front of him on the desk he personally had designed. The workers below were merely given the logistics and a basic design for what they were building. Only Kroger and one other individual knew what it was and what it was designed to do. And that other individual, Abbot, came into the control room, standing next to Kroger as they conversed.

"Spade is all patched up," Abbot said, "Whined most of the time, but is otherwise in good shape."

"I told him he would pull through," Kroger said, "For such a feared name on the streets, he moans a lot about flesh wounds. How soon can he be ready to go back on the job?"

"Tomorrow at the latest," Abbot replied.

"Perfect," Kroger replied, "The sooner I get all loose ends tied up, the better."

"Speaking of loose ends," Abbot said, "What about that woman you dealt with?"

"Lana Vail?" Kroger asked, "What about her?"

"She's already served her purpose," Abbot said, "She wrote the documents for your claims to ownership of the machine. You gave her the DNA samples that were supposed to be part of Corr's project. You rearranged ownership of the Vessels for her. Both of you have held up your ends of the bargain."

"Skip to the part that I don't already know, Abbot," Kroger groaned.

"You just said you were going to have Spade tie up all loose ends," Kroger said, "Doesn't Vail count? She knows too much about what we're doing here. Hell, if she figures out HOW to use the Vessels with the DNA we gave her, or worse, if she starts digging around what's left of the original Future Tech...dammit, if she gets anywhere close to Scheck himself..."

"She will not be a problem for us," Kroger replied, "Her intentions are more for her own personal aspirations, which I must say are...quite mundane, given what the Vessels are capable of. What _we_ are building...that is far greater than anything her own small mind could manage."

"Even if what you say is true," Abbot said, "If she finds out what the Vessels are truly capable of...or again, if she figures out HOW to use them, the way Corr designed them to be..."

"Stop. Worrying." Kroger said bluntly, "She is of little concern to us now that we have completed our bargain. Just focus on getting the machine up and running. And make sure all the necessary preparations are made for its...heh, _field test_."

* * *

"So," Haggard said, "You were all looking for Arnold Shortman. You followed a series of clues that led you to MacGuffin Warehouse. That's when Kroger showed up with that Spada thug..."

"Spade," Curly corrected him.

Rhonda and Helga both elbowed him in the sides.

"And...the Vessels were there?" Haggard asked.

"Keyword being _were_ ," Ashley replied, "They were gone by the time we got there."

"Dammit," Haggard sighed.

"You keep mentioning the word 'Vessels'," Phoebe asked, "What exactly is so relevant about them?"

"The man we told you about, the founder of Gemini Labs, he designed them for his clients as a way to leave their old bodies when they're close to death, inhabiting newer, younger hosts," Haggard replied, "They were specially designed to assimilate the same physical appearance of their previous bodies."

"I didn't even know that technology existed," Phoebe said.

"Wait, wait, wait," Helga interjected, "How do we even know that's possible?"

"Spoiler alert," Errol replied, "I'm one of them."

The other kids gasped.

"You all seem to be shocked by a lot," Errol said.

"Well, excuse us for not being used to this kind of thing!" Stinky exclaimed, "On account'a us just being kids!"

"So are we," Errol said, standing next to Ashley, "Well, technically, my Vessel's only a couple years old, but it still counts!"

"And this kind of thing happens regularly for you?" Gerald asked.

"Not regularly," he replied, "Just two major incidents... _recently_."

"Recently?!" Gerald exclaimed.

"Well, first, there was me and Ashley back in our hometown," Errol said, "Back where Gemini Labs was originally established before its unofficial demise. Our groups fought over a substance that would implicate Gemini in crimes against humanity."

"And _that_ was when Errol Corr showed up and fucked shit up for everyone," Ashley replied.

"I thought _you_ were Errol?" asked Helga.

"I'm the _copy_ ," Errol replied, not really comfortable using the word, "The original was Kaspar Corr's son. Endangered all our friends as part of some 'recollection' scheme."

"Whaaaaat?" asked the confused kids.

" _Then_ there was the Dimmsdale incident," Ashley said, "Most of what we know about it was through one of our other guys, he calls himself Z, but..."

"Wait, Dimmsdale?" asked Rhonda, "I...I have a friend who lives there."

"Trixie Tang, right?" Errol asked.

"How did you...?"

"Aha," Errol said, " _You're_ the friend she mentioned?"

"She...she talked about me?" Rhonda asked.

"She was worried the shit that happened to her own family would happen to yours," Ashley replied.

"Wha...what happened?" Rhonda asked.

"You don't...hoo boy," Errol said, "It's not good. Well, how do I put this delicately? Hmmm...well let's see, her home city was taken over and blocked off by some weird cult using Gemini for its connections to Dimmsdale's wealthy families, her friends were captured, imprisoned, and in some cases _tortured_ by said cult, her dad was used as a hostage and nearly executed, her mom was murdered by a mercenary posing as the family bodyguard, and the mastermind behind all of it, spoiler alert, it was her cousin Talbot, HE orchestrated all of that just so he could have access to some big bad weapon buried in the Tang's backyard that he used to destroy half the city and would continue to destroy others with had he not been stopped by the combined efforts of your friend and a bunch of _her_ friends coming together to save the day."

Rhonda stared blankly at Errol. It took a minute or so for her to fully process everything, but when she did, her wide eyes bore directly into Errol's.

"How is THAT putting it delicately?" Rhonda asked.

"In hindsight, I'm not sure," Errol replied, "But it's hard to take an _indelicate_ situation and make it sound _delicate_."

"...touche, Errol," Rhonda replied.

"The point is," Errol said, "Talbot Tang is gone. He's been dealt with already. And Errol Corr long before that. Right now, Vaas Kroger is who we're up against, and we're going to have to put our heads together to figure out his next move."

"I think," Ashley said, "We can figure out his next move...if we know what it is he's trying to build."

At this point, everyone turned back to the adults. Not Olga, of course, she had no involvement, other than emotional support for Haggard. Mr. Smith, yes, he seemed to have an idea. But so far, he had no history with Kroger. Which meant all eyes were now on Haggard.

"Alright," Haggard said, "I'll explain what I can about him. But...don't think any less of me when storytime is over."

"Why would we think less of you?" asked Ashley.

"...you'll find out."


	13. Best Laid Plans

"As I'm sure everyone here is aware by now," Haggard said, "Vaas Kroger was Kaspar Corr's partner at Gemini Labs. But what people don't know is that prior to his work here in the States, he was part of a German government think tank that formed decades after Nazi Germany. Incidentally, I learned later on that the late Dr. Graf was part of the same think tank."

"Dr. Graf?" Rhonda asked aloud.

"Willikers," Stinky asked, "Were they both Nazis?"

"Not Graf, no," Haggard replied, "Kroger...well, not in name, he wasn't, but you would be fooled by that given his tactics. Graf was their medical officer, so he didn't know as much of the confidential information as the others. Kroger, on the other hand, was one of their foremost researchers. And from that very think tank, he developed an idea...no, an _obsession_ , really, about the concept of fear."

"He...did mention something about everyone in Hillwood knowing fear," Phoebe said.

"That was his entire purpose," Haggard continued, "He believed that if he knew a person's fear, he could _use_ that fear to _control_ them. His entire research was based around that idea...and it was frighteningly clear how right he was."

"Does it have anything to do with that machine he's building?" Gerald asked.

"It has _everything_ to do with it," replied Haggard, "He built an original one years ago, and the results were...well, bad, to say the least. It proved his theory right and drove sane men _mad_. His only mistake was building it on American soil; the government deemed it too dangerous and inhumane, therefore having it dismantled and the blueprints kept hidden away."

"Let us guess," Errol said, "That didn't stop Kroger in the long run."

"Not by a long shot," Haggard replied, "Now, I don't know who he knows on the inside or how they did it, but somehow, somebody got the blueprints back to him, so now he has a way to rebuild the machine."

"That'll likely be one of our next steps," Mr. Smith said, "The more we know about his inside man, the better."

"But let's bring this back to _you_ ," Errol said, "You were in the military before VIGILANCE, right?"

"Yes," replied Haggard, "I was honorably discharged right a few years after Gemini first took off. And that was when some representatives from VIGILANCE approached me, asking me for my services."

Haggard put both hands on his kneecaps, delving deeper into his own personal experience.

"My one condition for siding with VIGILANCE against the crimes of Gemini Labs was that I would not have to take a single life," Haggard said, "I had enough of that from my years in the army, I didn't want to repeat that. And for most of my years, it stayed that way. You know that as well as I do, Ashley. I've robbed, lied, and tortured, but I never had to kill anyone."

Ashley held her breath, as did everyone else in the room. Given what Haggard just said, they were all pretty sure they knew where this story was heading.

"Then one day, a few years ago, I was asked to break my vow...I was ordered to take a life."

"Who...who did you kill?" asked Olga.

"...I didn't," Haggard replied.

Everyone looked up in surprise. They were sure Haggard was about to admit a grim truth about killing someone. There was a sense of relief for all of them that he didn't have blood on his hands. But that relief wouldn't last long.

"Man, you scared us there," Gerald said, "You were really building up that whole 'killer' thing. Why'd you lead us on like that?"

"I may not have taken a life with my own hands," Haggard replied, "But my decision cost others their lives."

"...who were you ordered to kill?" Ashley asked.

Haggard sighed and hung his head low.

"...Vaas Kroger."

And that's when the sense of dread came right back into everyone's minds, especially Ashley. The news shouldn't have surprised her; many of their operatives had tried and failed to kill Kroger, particularly once it seemed less likely he would ever answer for his crimes in a court of law. There was only one reason Haggard would be this distraught about something any other operative would not think twice about.

"Haggard..." Ashley said.

"And like an idiot, I refused," Haggard shamefully admitted, "And just mere days later, he started the fire that killed Ashley's parents."

Haggard took another deep breath.

"Courtney and Steven Cliffe," Haggard said, "They were some of the best people I had ever known."

"Steven...as in Stevie?" Lila asked Ashley, remembering the name under her beanie.

Ashley simply nodded her head, not bothering to lie about her father's name.

"Ashley," Haggard said, looking up at her with teary eyes, "I can't apologize enough for this. If I had just done what I was ordered, your parents...and so many others...they would still be alive today."

Ashley calmly got up and walked over to Haggard, putting her much smaller hands on top of his. The two of them almost looked like an actual father and daughter.

"This is _not_ your fault," Ashley told him, " _Kroger_ killed my parents. He's the one responsible for all of this...and we're going to stop him."

Everyone but Helga smiled confidently, seeming to be inspired by Ashley's words.

"Not to be Johnny Raincloud over here," Helga said with her usual trademark snark, "But HOW exactly are we going to do that? It's not like we can just waltz up to him and kick him in the 'nads...as much as I would like to. Especially when he's got three of our dads hostage!"

"Well the good news for you is that it's highly unlikely he'll kill them," Mr. Smith said, "The bad news is that his reason to not kill them would be to use them as test subjects. And since he now has the blueprints for his machine, they may soon wish they _were_ dead."

"But what does it DO?" asked Helga.

"You don't want to know what it does," Haggard replied, "We'll only tell you if the situation gets bad enough to _warrant_ that explanation. For now, we just concentrate on rescuing them _before_ the machine is ready."

"Errol and I can handle that part," Mr. Smith said, "We have a vague idea of where Kroger would base his operations."

Even with the creakiness of the floors, no one had heard the footsteps walking down the hallway as Mr. Smith laid out the plans.

"You two," Mr. Smith said, referring to Ashley and Haggard, "continue your search for a weakness in the Vessels. We let those things slip away from us twice now, so it's more important than ever that we disable them."

"Yeah, about that," Ashley said, "The only ones who know the Vessels' weakness are Coco LaBouche and Alphonse Scheck. But LaBouche is dead and Scheck is locked up with super-tight security. VIGILANCE can't just walk in and talk to him."

"But the CIA can," Mr. Smith replied, "And since I've already put in my clearance at the facility, you two should be good to go."

"Wait," Haggard said, "Really?"

"Yep," Mr. Smith replied, "Once Errol told me what your goal was, I slipped your names into their logs so that you would have the necessary clearance for visiting our pal Scheck. I even wiped out any record of Ashley's involvement with the gel incident back at your last hometown."

"Gel incident?" Sid asked.

"She _might_ have been part of an attack on the school gym where the science fair was and she _might_ have tried to steal my project since it used a special gel that was custom made by Gemini Labs," Errol answered, "You're _lucky_ to have walked away from that, by the way."

"Yes, I _was_ ," Ashley replied, "My _other_ friends weren't so lucky, no thanks to you."

"Relax, cupcake," Errol said, "If they keep up the good behavior, they'll get out for good behavior and be free like Lou."

"You know Lou too?"

Everyone screamed and jumped (even Mr. Smith, but that was classified) when Phil popped in.

"Uh, yeah, I do," Errol said, "Nice guy, actually...but how long were you there?"

"Oh not long, I had just come back from walking Abner, had to hide him in the bathroom for a bit since Pookie thought he was...one of those...thingies that...I can't even remember, but anyhow, whatcha guys talking about up here? It must be mighty interesting if you're all crammed into this one room."

"Uh, not much," Errol said, "Just...legal stuff."

"Legal stuff, eh?" Phil asked curiously, "You know, if you have questions about that, you should talk to Lana Vail."

"That lawyer chick who used to live here?" Gerald asked.

"Uh huh," Phil replied, "Just ran into her again a couple weeks ago, she's living on Rodgers Boulevard."

"You think she knows anything about where Arnold is?" Gerald asked.

"Mmm, well I dunno," Phil said, "She always was fond of him...she may not know where he is, but she might have some advice or, if we're lucky, a lead."

The other children thought about Phil's words.

"Well anyway, good luck, I should probably clean out the medicine cabinet before Oskar tries to sell off any of my meds again...oy, that was a rough week."

As Phil walked off, the native Hillwood children looked around at each other. Could Lana Vail possibly have information on Arnold? They weren't sure, and they didn't know why she would, but they figured it was worth a shot.

"If she _does_ have any ideas," Helga said, "I'd say it's at least worth it to pay her a visit."

"Then it's settled," Ashley said, "We have a game plan."

"And with the right timing," Errol said, "We might regain the advantage..."

* * *

Bob, Buckley, and Beau had no idea what they were looking at. They saw wide space being cleared and built upon. At a glance, it looked like just pillars and wires, as if someone teepeed Stonehenge. It clearly wasn't functional yet, but the madman standing in front of them looked quite gleeful at the quick progress being made.

"Had I known how quickly the machine would be rebuilt," Kroger exclaimed, "I would have searched for the original blueprints long, _long_ ago."

"And what exactly is it?" Beau asked.

Kroger turned his head over his shoulder and started directly into Beau's eyes.

"My wife died helping you with this thing," Beau said, "I deserve to at least know what she died for."

Kroger grinned widely at Beau's curiosity...and subtle accusatory tone.

"You still blame me for her death, eh?" Kroger asked.

"You _admitted_ to killing her, Vaas," Beau said, "Back at the warehouse, in front of _everyone_."

"She knew what she was getting herself into," Kroger replied, "But if you're curious about what it does, you're in luck. I've opted the three of you to be the first test subjects for the machine's power."

Bob and Buckley looked up fearfully at Kroger, still grinning at the prospect of resuming his work.

"Afraid?" Kroger asked, "Because I'm kind of counting on it. And if _this_ by itself does not scare you...I'll find out what _does_."


	14. Revise and Rebuild

**Many apologies for the lack of updating lately. SUPER busy with my summer job, but now that it's done for the summer, I've FINALLY been able to start the second half of this story. Enjoy :)**

* * *

Ashley opened her eyes to nothing but pitch dark, the only source of light being the red "1:22" on Haggard's alarm clock. She groaned as she rubbed her eyes, needing to use the bathroom. She lifted the covers off of herself and put her feet on the ground, tiptoeing across the room. At least until her foot hit something and sent her hopping across, nearly causing her to fall face first into the floor.

"Son of a bitch!" she hissed.

Now that she was more alert, she saw a lump of a human in a sleeping bag on the ground.

"Oh right," Ashley said, "I remember now."

Helga, Rhonda, and Lila were still currently on their own due to their dads being Kroger's prisoners. Miriam and Brooke were placed in protective custody courtesy of Mr. Smith, and Olga was supposed to be as well. Olga, however, refused to leave her sisters' side, taking her, as well as Rhonda and Lila, into her [temporary] custody during this crisis. As such, Haggard offered them refuge in the small little apartment he and Ashley had been living in for the past few weeks. It was a tight fit, but they had all felt a lot safer just from being in each other's company.

Ashley had walked across the hall to the bathroom, turning on the dim lights that just barely reflected across the walls at night. Washing her face with the warm water coming from the dinky little sink, she kept thinking back to the confrontation at the MacGuffin warehouse. No matter how personal her beef with Kroger was, she never thought he would actually reappear in her life. Nor did she think he would take even more from her the second time they met. Yet now three men, fathers of kids she had started becoming...well acquainted with, were his prisoners. And whatever he was building, he was more than likely to use them as test dummies. But no matter how badly she wanted revenge on him, she knew she was just a kid. If it came down to physical combat, Haggard had a much greater chance against Kroger than she did. If she wanted to beat Kroger, she would have to do it with her mind, not her strength.

Ashley heard footsteps outside the bathroom. Wondering who else would be awake at this hour, Ashley left the bathroom and, even in the dimly lit hallways, she saw a familiar redhead walking down in a bright pink bathrobe.

"Lila?"

Lila turned around, somehow surprised to see Ashley.

"Oh, h-hi," Lila replied, turning around with her hands in her robe pockets, "I was ever so certain no one else would be awake at this hour."

"You'd be surprised," Ashley said, "What are _you_ doing up at this hour?"

"Couldn't sleep either," Lila replied, "Too much on my mind."

"I hear that," Ashley said.

"How do _you_ get yourself to sleep when you have so much to worry about?" Lila asked.

"Honestly," Ashley replied, "Sometimes I don't. But when I _do_ , it's just letting go of the small stuff."

"Really?"

"And sometimes a little bit of melatonin," Ashley said, "You know, for the _really_ rough nights."

"Gotcha," Lila said, "Well, goodnight."

Lila didn't even take two steps forward when she heard Ashley calling her out.

"Lila," she said, "Give me the gun."

"Wh-what?" she asked.

"I see the bulge in those pockets," Ashley said, "And I know those aren't your hands, which incidentally you have not removed once since we started talking."

Lila froze where she stood, and even with little light, she could see just how serious Ashley was.

"Give it to me, Lila," Ashley said.

Lila finally removed her hands from her pockets, walking over to Ashley and handing her the .44 Magnum she had been trying to hide.

"What exactly was your plan, Lila?" Ashley asked, "Just waltz over to where Kroger is and pop a bullet in his head? Do you even _know_ where he is?"

"Well...n-no, not exactly..."

"And even if you found him, are you ready to take on whatever goons he's got protecting him?"

"...probably not..."

Ashley moved in closer and lowered her voice to emphasize her point.

"And do you think for a _second_ that he's above killing a child, let alone _anyone_ that stands in his way?" Ashley asked her, "Believe me, I was supposed to _die_ in that fire with my parents."

Lila was never good at holding back her emotions. She didn't exactly hide her tears this time either.

"Trust me, Lila, I know how you feel," Ashley said, "I want him gone too. More than you do, if I'm being honest."

"I-I know, but..."

Ashley thought back to her previous thoughts while in the restroom. It almost seemed like fate that it should happen.

"We're not the only ones Kroger has wronged," Ashley said, "But rushing in guns a-blazing is not going to stop him. He's got some ruthless people on his side, people who could easily take us down. If we want to stop Kroger, we need to _outsmart_ him."

"...why would you stop me?" asked Lila, "You just said you know how it felt! Why would you keep me from..."

"Because you're _not_ that kind of person," Ashley replied, "You're better than that. Haggard and I, we've...been around. We both made our own graves, but there's no reason for you to throw your life away by being something you're not."

Lila finally smiled a genuine smile for once during that conversation, wiping tears from her eyes.

"It's strange," Lila said, "It's almost like I was talking to Arnold again. That just sounds like something he would say."

"Well, then maybe he and I are more alike than anyone thought," Ashley said.

Neither girl could keep a straight face. They both knew Ashley was nothing like Arnold. Helga, maybe, but not Arnold.

"Let's just forget this incident happened, okay?" Ashley asked.

"...okay," Lila said, "I trust you."

Lila and Ashley started walking back to their room, both keeping what happened to themselves.

* * *

Despite only a few people staying with Ashley and Haggard at the Sunset Arms, it was a full house in the kitchen. Despite now knowing the dangers that lay ahead, nearly all the kids had gotten to the Sunset Arms bright and early to lay out their game plan. Poochie was more than happy to make breakfast for everyone, watching with great joy as the kids (and Phil) wolfed down their pancakes.

"So you really think this Lana Vail person can help us find Arnold?" asked Rhonda.

"I do think she will help," Phil said, "She probably doesn't know where he is, but she's got friends in the legal community. She can probably dig something up."

"She's got to," Gerald said, "I got another note from my man Fuzzy Slippers last night. Found it on my stoop, said Lana would have answers, so I'm gonna stop by her place for a chat."

"Count me in," Helga said.

"You?" Gerald asked.

"Trust me, I think I can get answers from her, one lady to another," Helga said.

"A _lady_?" Harold burst out laughing, "Who are _you_ kidding?"

"Watch it, Pink Boy," Helga said.

"Fine, fine," Ashley said, "Haggard and I are going to the facility where they're holding Scheck. Maybe we can finally get the answers we came here for."

"Mr. Smith and I are going to meet up and try and track down where Kroger is now," Errol said, "Wherever he is, that's likely where his prisoners are."

"And what about us?" Sid asked.

"Yeah! What do _we_ do?" Stinky asked.

"Just sit there and look pretty," Errol replied.

"Yeah!" Harold exclaimed, jumping out of his seat with a forkful of pancake in his hand, "...wait, what?"

"Kidding," Errol said, "You all just keep looking for your friend. You know these streets better than myself or Ashley, so it only makes sense for you to keep up the search."

"We seem to have searched nearly everywhere," Phoebe said, "It probably won't be that easy starting from scratch."

"Yeah, that whole 'sundown above ground' thing was a rotten joke!" Harold cried out, "I oughta pound whoever sent us on that wild duck chase!"

"Goose," Helga remarked, "It's _goose_ chase."

"Whatever it is, it was a big fat waste of time!" Harold exclaimed.

"Not to mention it nearly got us killed," Curly said.

"There is a silver lining behind all of that," Errol said, "Now that you won't be misled by whoever planted those signs, you can search freely without distraction."

"As long as Harold doesn't get hungry," Sid said, "We'll be at Green Meats all day trying to get him fed!"

"HEY!" Harold screamed, "I'll pound you!"

"Save it for the playground, knuckleheads," Helga said, breaking the two of them up, "Just keep looking while the rest of us do our thing."

"For once, I agree with Helga," Ashley said.

"Let's just remember to be on our guards and that we're still on a time table," Errol said, "Kroger isn't going to wait around for us to catch up to him before he makes his next move. The sooner we all do our jobs, the sooner we can put a stop to all this."

* * *

 _Helga. Olga. Miriam. All lying dead on his living room floor. And all Bob could do was scream as his house literally fell apart, taking their bodies with it._

 _Rhonda. Brooke. Slaves to Gemini's malevolent experiments. And Buckley was unable to cry out for them to stop, his mouth and body stuffed to the rim with wads of money._

 _Lila. The only person Beau has left in the world. Joined at the hip with her mother, both flying away, leaving Beau all alone in the inferno he was burning in._

* * *

Beau, Bob, and Buckley fell out of the machine screaming, madly reaching out at nothing. It took several moments for them to realize they were no longer in their nightmares. They were back at the facility where they were taken prisoner, and had just gotten out of the machine. Well, more like forced out. Took long enough, given that only ten minutes in there was enough to drive them mad. The three started getting their senses back as they realized Kroger and Abbot were standing above them; Abbot jotting down notes, Kroger with a devious smile on his face.

"Even I did not expect the machine to work so quickly," Kroger said, "Abbot, take note of that when initiating the next phase."

"What...what WAS that?" Bob asked.

"That, gentlemen," Kroger said, "was the Nightmare Chamber."

"The...the what?" asked Buckley, out of breath.

"My pride and joy," Kroger replied, "It took me long enough to find the blueprints for it, so I'm quite pleased we could assemble it in just one day's time. As you can imagine, it uses the same neurological scanning technology Dr. Corr used in his own experiments. I just adjusted them a bit to hone in on a subject's _fear_. And once it knows your fears, it traps you in a nightmarish hallucination surrounded by them."

"That's what that is?" Beau asked, "THAT'S what you've worked so hard for?"

"Hardly," Kroger replied, "I have something bigger in mind. This particular Nightmare Chamber is just the groundwork for the others."

"...others?" asked Beau, "What others?"

Kroger looked down at Beau, grinning madly at the prospect of seeing his vision come to life.

"You'll see."


	15. Divide and Conquer

Just before noon, Errol and Mr. Smith had met up in the back lot of MacGuffin Warehouse. Both suspected there may have been clues to where they could have gone afterwards. It was a long shot, but it was all they had. Mr. Smith had noticed tire tracks leaving the lot. It seemed too obvious of a clue, as it was the only direction a getaway car could go; every other direction was surrounded by water. Errol walked up to Mr. Smith empty-handed.

"Well," Errol said, "They didn't leave much behind. Just these tracks and some blood stains."

"Blood stains?" asked Mr. Smith.

"I think it was that Spade guy that I shot in the shoulder," Errol replied, "It's probably _his_ blood."

"You didn't mention that before," Mr. Smith said, "Nor did you mention using a firearm."

"What did you think I would use?" Errol asked, "A slingshot? I only _look_ like a kid."

"Even _that's_ a stretch," Mr. Smith said, "You look more like a young adult or much older teenager with an affinity for highlights."

"Technically I'm only about a year old, maybe two," Errol said.

"Oh, right...the whole 'Vessel' thing," Mr. Smith said, "Guess those things really are advanced if one of them can already learn how to communicate and use human tools."

"They _were_ meant to be Kaspar's tools," Errol said, "I doubt they'd be useful to him if they couldn't perform basic functions."

"As twisted as he was," Mr. Smith said, "Your father's had a morbid sense of brilliance to it."

"He wasn't my father," Errol said, correcting him, "He was Errol Corr's father."

"Right," Mr. Smith said a bit uncomfortably, clearing his throat, "Sothenanyhow, if all we have to go on is blood and tire tracks..."

"It may not be," Errol replied, "The _thing_ Kroger is building...roughly how big is it in size?"

"According to the original blueprints," Mr. Smith replied, "It's roughly 2400 square feet long and 10 feet tall. But based on what the machine does, it would seem bigger on the inside."

"Okay, so obviously they need to build it from scratch," Errol replied, "That would require a workshop bigger than the machine. And if they're using it as a base of operations, there would also need to be easy medical access in or around the building. So we just need to look for something close enough to this warehouse."

"Not bad, Errol, not bad," Mr. Smith replied, "I'll put in some calls and see if anything in Hillwood matches that criteria."

"See?" Errol asked aloud, "We're already making so much more progress without those kids in the way."

"The girl Ashley seems to be growing fonder of them," Mr. Smith said.

"I'm sure they mean well," Errol said, "But they're not cut out for 'hero work'..."

* * *

The other kids were stumped. They had spent the last hour walking around the city in exactly the same places that they had been searching before. And unsurprisingly, they came up with nothing. Harold had taken to banging his head against the stoop they were standing outside of, as frustrated with the lack of progress as the rest of thdm.

"Aw, come on!" Harold moaned, "Why can't we find one freakin' clue?"

"I would have thought without any red herrings this time, we would have at least found something substantial."

"I'll bet Helga and Gerald are having better luck at Lana Vail's," Rhonda said.

"Yeah!" Sid exclaimed, "Why did WE get stuck doing the grunt work?"

"What grunt work, Sid?" Stinky asked, "On account'a there being no new clues out here!"

"Why'd that Errol kid stick US with this crap?" Harold said, "I say we go over to Lana's where Gerald and Helga are!"

"Yeah!" the other kids exclaimed.

Except for Lila. While Harold marched ahead with Stinky, Sid, Curly, Rhonda, and Phoebe following, Lila stayed in the back, silently looking around, her mind still on her last conversation with Ashley. She promised she wouldn't do anything reckless.

She was starting to wonder if she could keep that promise.

* * *

Gerald and Helga had spent most of the walk to Lana's house in silence. They actually had not really spoken much since Arnold's disappearance, making only small talk whenever the rest of their friends were around. They were just a couple blocks away from Lana's house when Helga finally broke the awkward silence.

"Do you really think she'll know where Arnold is?" Helga asked.

"I don't...think she has an exact answer," Gerald replied, "But she'll definitely point us in the right direction."

"Did Fuzzy Slippers tell you that?" Helga asked.

"He's a VERY reliable source," Gerald replied.

"Like the first time we searched for Arnold?" Helga asked, "That info _really_ paid off."

"I'm no stranger to sarcasm, Helga," Gerald replied, "I don't know why he said that or where we went wrong. But Fuzzy Slippers wouldn't deliberately mislead us."

"You have an awful lot of trust in a guy you've never met," Helga bluntly responded.

"And _you_ have been uncharacteristically concerned about a guy you've never _liked_ ," Gerald retorted, "What's your angle, Helga?"

"What, I can't show a little concern?" Helga asked him back.

"You relentlessly tease him and put him down," Gerald replied, "So pardon me for being a bit skeptical."

Helga was stuck between wanting to punch Gerald in the kisser and wanting to pull out her golden locket recite her love for Arnold. She instead settled for a third option, deflection.

"Jeez, look," Helga said, "I know I rag on Football-head a lot, but I don't HATE him! Besides, I'm not the only one who teases him!"

"Well, _Wolfgang_ teases everybody," Gerald said, "No surprise there."

"Not _just_ Wolfgang," Helga said, "Nearly everyone has ragged on Arnold at some point, and don't pretend they haven't! Like with the 'stolen' money, or when he stopped giving advice when he was called a 'buttinski', or the time that everyone...oh..."

"What, Helga?" Gerald asked.

"Gerald," Helga said, "You know what I'm talking about, right? The day of _that_ incident?"

"I remember," Gerald replied, "Wasn't there, but I knew about it."

"...that was just a few days before he disappeared," Helga said.

And Gerald came to the same grim conclusion as Helga. Somehow, it was worse than whatever he imagined a man like Kroger could do. And that scared the shit out of him.

"You don't think...he left on his own?" Gerald asked, "But if that's true, then..."

"Yeah," Helga replied, "Arnold doesn't _want_ to be found..."

Gerald and Helga stood in silence, wondering why Arnold would not confide in his friends. Why he would leave when he bounced back from so many other things?

"Let's just keep going to Lana's," Gerald said.

Helga followed behind Gerald, wistfully looking in the distance pondering how Arnold could just up and leave Hillwood.

 _Oh Arnold..._

* * *

"I got something," Mr. Smith said, having just gotten off the phone.

"Whatcha got?" Errol asked.

"Not far from here is a facility with functioning utilities called Mertz Metalworks," Mr. Smith replied, "It produces autoshop parts, medical supplies, even military contractors.."

"Is it still in business?" Errol asked.

"It's been under new management for the last few months," Mr. Smith replied, "I'm willing to bet Kroger and his crew are that 'new management'."

"Sounds like a front to me," Errol said, "It's perfect."

"We have to go in carefully, though," Mr. Smith replied, "It's just us and a lot of _them_. Not exactly ideal if it comes down to a fight."

"Then I guess we go in through the back?" Errol asked.

"I have a better idea," Mr. Smith said, "We go in from underneath."

"...huh?"

* * *

"This is her address, right?" Helga asked.

"It was last I checked," Gerald replied, "Do we knock?"

"No, we serenade outside her doorstep," Helga replied facetiously, "What do YOU think we do?"

"Okay, I get it," Gerald said, "Stupid question, sarcastic response, let's just see what she knows."

Gerald reached his fist out and knocked on Lana's front door. The two children waited patiently before they heard footsteps walking towards the door, followed by the familiar sound of a lock being turned, and finally the creaks of the old door being opened by Lana herself. She looked as if she had just recently showered, because her hair had been a little darker and wasn't poofed out towards the bottom, rather barely sticking to the back of Lana's neck.

"Oh, hello," Lana said, "You...look familiar. Can I help you?"

"Yeah," Gerald replied, "You can. We were told you might be able to help us. It's about Arnold Shortman."

"Arnold?" Lana asked, "Hasn't he been missing for some time now?"

"That's why we're here," Gerald replied, "We were hoping you might have some answers, or at least a lead? His grandpa also said you might be able to help."

"Phil did stop by before," Lana said, conveniently remembering Phil walking by the other day, "Well, I don't know where he is, per se, but maybe I can be of some assistance."

Gerald leaned in towards Helga.

"Told you we had a lead," he whispered to her.

"Can it," Helga retorted.

"Why don't the two of you come inside?" Lana asked, "We'll be able to talk more in depth."

Gerald and Helga walked inside as Lana closed the door behind her, sighing with a bit of tension in her shoulder before going back to accompany her guests.

* * *

Haggard and Ashley were guided into the maximum security facility well outside the city limits. Though the city of Hillwood could be seen from a distance, the wasteland of dry grass and surrounding satellite towers gave the prison an even greater emphasis on its isolation. It was roughly ten miles outside the main city, yet it took then 30 minutes to get onto the highway but only 15 to get to the prison. The duo just wanted to get through security and start their interrogation. As they were searched and scanned at the front gate, one of the guards finally let them through (courtesy of the advanced credentials Mr. Smith had put in for them) and walked them into the elevator.

"Finally we'll get some answers," Ashley said.

"Let's hope so," Haggard said, "The sooner we learn just how to stop the Vessels, the better."

"Think he'll know where they are now?" Ashley asked.

"Unlikely," Haggard replied, "Even if they were at MacGuffin, they're not there anymore. Scheck couldn't possibly know where Kroger took them."

"What I don't get is how he moved hundreds of husks of dead weight from the warehouse to...wherever they are, in plain sight!" Ashley exclaimed, "I mean, they can't exactly be stuffed in the trunk of a car!"

"And he can't activate them yet," Haggard replied, "Or else we would have seen some unpleasant changes in Errol."

"...what _will_ happen to him?" Ashley asked, "Y'know, if the Vessels get activated?"

"Nothing good, I imagine," Haggard replied, "He may be the only sentient Vessel, but his physical structure and basic programming is still the same. If the Vessels are simultaneously activated at once..."

"We're here," the guard said as the elevator stopped.

The guard led Haggard and Ashley down the hall towards the interrogation room. They both noticed one cell was empty, presumably Scheck's. The guard pointed towards the door into the interrogation room as he himself stopped by the door just next to it.

"I'm right behind the one-way mirror if you need me," the guard said, "Be careful in there."

Haggard and Ashley walked inside, assured they could handle themselves. Even if Scheck had violent tendencies in his past, he had no formal fighting experience, unlike Haggard and Ashley. The two of them sat down at the table, getting comfortable...

...and were face to face with the former head of FutureTech.

"I haven't had visitors in quite some time," said Alphonse Perrier du von Scheck, seeming peculiarly giddy in his prison uniform, "And I hear you've got some... _interesting_ questions for me."


End file.
